#31 Do Nothing
I doubt that many people actually take time to do absolutely nothing at all - no television or checking phone or opening the laptop…nothing. Human evolution is astonishing but it does have its downsides. In the current world, there is stimulation overload - we can shop, entertain ourselves and work 24/7 if we want to. That means there is much less down time or time when we aren’t doing anything.
Can you imagine the lazy lifestyle of an animal, like a sloth for example - who doesn’t find a sloth fascinating? They sleep 15 to 20 hours a day and their only care when they are awake is to move very slowly from tree to tree looking for the next leaf. Perhaps we should take a leaf out of their book.
Doing nothing is good
Doing nothing is apparently very good for us for the following reasons:
Our subconscious mind has space to expand and we can get our best creative ideas when we don’t have any distractions
Our brain gets a chance to process experiences and memories which helps to reinforce learning
When we are alone with our thoughts, we can focus on a larger sense of purpose which prompts us to try challenging and meaningful activities
If we don’t ever slow down and take time to do nothing, we risk burn out which is an increasingly common scenario given the pace of our modern lives
I have never been great at doing nothing - in fact doing one thing at a time is challenging enough. So on my recent holiday to Cornwall, one of my main objectives was to rest properly and find some time for reflection.
With this intention, I took myself off on a very long walk along the coast and found a secluded beach where I spent time collecting pebbles to spell out the word Do Nothing! (photographic evidence above). I spent time taking in the beautiful views, paddling along the seashore in the sunshine and just generally taking….. things …..slowly.
Now I did also find time for a long run, body boarding and stand up paddle boarding and although not technically doing nothing, these activities didn’t involve using my brain or doing anything productive so I think they count. I am going to make an effort to do less more often - or at least not to be always doing something useful - because it definitely made me feel good.
