This last week was an international break. A time when great players can compete for their country, and when fans can thrill in a patriotic triumph.

It’s also a time when fans complain.

A lot of fans would rather the players keep playing. Some wonder why clubs with international stars don’t carry on with the players who are in games for their country. Some wonder why we have to have international matches at all when the clubs actually pay the salary for players. Some bemoan the lack of entertainment and quality games, others wish that a few players who seek to stay home would respect the honor of playing for their nation.

Here’s my thing on this, for the very little it’s worth: everyone benefits from a break.

In my own career, I’ve spent hours upon hours not just teaching, but refining my practice, improving my skills, and attending workshops to discover new methods. I do it because I think my work’s important and I want to do it to the best of my ability. Sometimes I do it past the point of helping myself. [Ask your mom about the time I tried to cook lentil soup while grading papers and designing a new unit…it was…not good.]

I benefit from a break, and, more to the point, so do my students, so do you boys, so does everyone I encounter. Because if all I ever do is work, then I don’t keep working well.

Hard as it is for passionate sports fans to admit, the same is true for professional athletes.

These people have spent their entire lives training their bodies to be in peak condition to compete at the highest levels and provide entertainment for us all. Every month or so, they get a break.

Good.

They don’t just need an “off-season” to recover, they need the time and head space to be human beings rather than our favorite source of excitement. They can rest their bodies. They can connect with their families. They can even not care at all about what a bunch of fans want and make sure that they are taken care of first.

Truth be told, rested players tend to be more fit. More fit players play better games, and we’ll all benefit from it. They also can be more balanced and better able to cope when their careers come to an end. Their health and well-being is so much more important that what I want for entertainment on a weekend that I can’t help but feel that anyone complaining about people taking a break is utterly selfish.

So, while some will tell you “there are no off days” or “grind 24/7/365”. Please, take breaks. You’ll be better for it.