When we’re used to defining ourselves by what we do, it’s hard to be forcibly stopped in our tracks by illness. Our inner achiever is crying out and won’t rest until our goals are reached.

But this mind-driven approach clashes with the reality of our body, and this reality wins 100% of the time when we don’t have energy reserves. If we overspend our energy balance, we crash and post exertion malaise claims the debt due.

The gap between what we want to do and what we can do brings with it a lot of shame.

It’s easy to forget that resting when you need to, which is an essential part of pacing, is crucial to our recovery, which is the most important goal we have. So each rest is a win that can and should be celebrated by the achiever.

It’s uncomfortable to do so, because we’re used to celebrating action, not inaction. But properly resting is a top level skill that we need to develop to be able to heal. It takes patience, commitment and dedication and is in many ways harder than just rushing to the next thing blindly.

Doing too much is a false economy. We can only do so much, and resting allows us to do more in the long run by maintaining balance without wasting energy on recovering from crashes.

Recognising this, and learning to cope with the discomfort of leaving things undone, is something to be celebrated.

It’s like watching a game of football - we focus on the goals scored, but equally as important are the goals saved, which stop the team getting beaten. Defenders are an essential part of the team, even though it’s a less glamorous role. Resting and pacing is about us learning to be world class defenders, guarding our energy levels against a range of threats so that our team - our body - stays in the game. It takes active focus and awareness and is the foundation on which recovery is built.