When Everything Changed: How Stillness Became My Power
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
Dr. Renee Sunday
When my mother transitioned, everything in me shifted. I was still publishing, speaking, and mentoring others, yet inside I felt hollow. I wasn’t just grieving her presence. I was grieving the version of myself that only existed because of her constant encouragement and grounding. I kept going, outwardly productive, but I was disconnected emotionally and spiritually.
The turning point came one morning when I woke up to extreme chest pain and dangerously high blood pressure. EMS arrived, and even they were shocked. I was known as “Dr. Renee,” a board-certified anesthesiologist, publisher, speaker, and coach. In that moment, I wasn’t any of those things. I was a woman depleted. A woman doing for everyone else but barely holding herself together.
That experience didn’t just scare me. It sat me down. From that place of forced stillness, I began to rebuild. Not the image. The woman behind it.
That’s when the REST Framework was born. REST stands for Reflection, Evaluation, Stillness, and Time. It wasn’t a branding idea. It was survival. I started practicing it daily. I got quiet, took inventory of what I was carrying, gave myself permission to pause, and allowed time to bring clarity. I realized I had mastered serving others while ignoring my own needs. That had to change.
What began as a personal necessity evolved into a framework I now share with women across industries. Entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, and nonprofit founders all benefit from this model. Many of them, like me, had confused productivity with purpose. They were building success at the expense of their health, voice, and peace. REST became the interruption they didn’t know they needed.
One of the women I coached had spent years silencing herself. Her pain was hidden behind a high-profile job and layers of performance. Through REST, she found her voice again. Today, she is a published author and mentors other women with stories they were once afraid to tell. That is what it means to go from pain to power. Not by pushing harder, but by honoring what is already inside.
For me, being “unstoppable” used to mean being always on, always available, always achieving. Now, it means knowing when to pause. It means leading without pretending. It means choosing presence instead of pressure and trusting that I do not have to prove I belong. I already do.
To the woman who almost gave up: I see you. You do not have to keep pushing through. Real power does not require constant motion. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is be still and listen. You are not behind. You are being prepared.
Pain does not disqualify you from your purpose. It refines it.
My journey from burnout to REST has not only transformed how I live. It has shaped how I lead. I have learned that lasting power is not built through performance. It grows through peace. Being unstoppable does not mean charging forward at all costs. It means standing in your truth even when everything else feels uncertain.
This is what it means to go from pain to power. Not just rising once, but learning how to rise differently. With intention. With clarity. With peace that cannot be shaken.
Now, I help others do the same with strength, purpose, and full permission to show up as their whole selves.
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