The modern society is a hamster wheel, and suffice to say we humans are the hamsters. Day in and day out, we lead robotic lives which start in the morning by being woken up by an alarm clock and going to bed all groggy.
We are in perpetually hectic schedules and being busy all the time is the new trend. Even if we are not busy, we like to think that we are occupied or we should be occupied.
So, it is a fact that the modern person, is an overworked person. Of course, we are spending most of our times to build a life for ourselves and that is totally fine, it’s encouraged actually. But we do need to remember that our bodies have limits.
Even a machine wears and tears the more it is operated. Since our bodies are biological machines, they show wear and tear too but it is not only our physical bodies that show this. We have a whole psychological level of being that gets exhausted too.
THE RAT RACE
This is why it is really important to have time outs on a regular basis. I used to overwork myself all the time, to the point where I was not even sure if I was dead or alive, even though I have always been a ‘chill’ kind of a guy my whole life.
But then, I realised something really important. Getting there is more important than the speed at which you get ‘there’. Today’s society has engrained a competitive nature in all of us and we feel like we are in a race, all the time!
Life is full of abundance and there is enough for everybody to go around. This sense of limitation we have, coupled with today’s corporate culture is the key reason why there is this rat race going on in the world today.
If only we took a step back and realised that this was not true, we could all go about our business in a more relaxed way. All I see is that we are making it hard on our own selves. That’s very foolish for an intelligent species!
DOING NOTHING
We should all take some time out of our ‘busy’ schedules to do absolutely nothing. It may sound like a really bad advice, right? You may ask why you would simply not do other things like travel, or play video games, if the objective is to unwind.
That is true. We often take time outs for other things that we love in life like listening to music, hanging out with friends, going on a road trip and what not. You should absolutely do these. Life would be incomplete without these things.
But ‘doing nothing’ is one more item you should add to that list. It may sound boring and counter productive and a total waste of time to be doing nothing. At this point, you may even be questioning my sanity, but trust me I am sane.
Laying around in a bed or sitting on a bench at the beach, or just about anywhere else and just spending time alone is very relaxing. In fact, Aristotle said, “Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.”
I don’t know about god but we are definitely wild beasts given the amount of work we do as a race.
BENEFITS
For those of you, who are still not sure about this, let me quickly lay down some benefits of taking time to do nothing, after all we humans understand the language of cost and benefit more easily.
It can heal the burnout that we experience on a daily basis. Some downtime lets our physical bodies and mind to heal and relax. And no, sleeping alone won’t do it. You have to break the pattern.
It can boost your creativity. That’s because, when we are alone and doing nothing, our minds seem to wander and notice things that we never thought about before. This boosts creativity which may be helpful in the work life as well.
Finally, it’s important to disconnect from everything else and to connect to your inner self. I might sound like a guru right now, but trust me, if nothing else, it will help you see the bigger picture of your life, if you just stepped back for a while.
Solid stuff, I'm going to do nothing at work tomorrow. :D
That's mostly what I used to do :P
I really love this post, especially for going into the new year. It's so easy to get caught up in job, career...all the have to-dos. So many people have lost the ability to just chill and do nothing. Thank you for the reminder! :)
haha yeah, it's surprising that we have to be reminded nowadays about this. lol
@sauravrungta, this post is about me. Love doing nothing and in a hurry.
Me too :D
sit in front of the fire; sit on the porch drinking coffee; mimic the pic and lay in the hammock; hike out to a nice viewpoint in the park and zone out
ahh, the life..... :D :D
Thanks to your post, I have decided to do noting today!
:D :D :D :D
Yes dude.
Doing nothing is the most benificial thing we can do. It forces us to dream, which we have forgotten how to do in western society.
We have become predominatley left brain thinkers, forgetting about our inner magic.
If only we REALLY knew that we are magicians and that our thoughts manifest our reality, we would be lying down on the grass visualizing our future, rather than pushing through the crowd to get to the subway platform first.
Good post. Followed you.
I am a firm believer of the law of attraction too. I'm glad more people are being aware of this. Thanks for reading :)
Plus, the more you visualize, the easier it becomes and the faster you can do it.
Clairvoyance is not a gift...it happens when you close your eyes and allow yourself to drift!
Great post, very fascinating and true!
Being bored sometimes leads to the best ideas.
And being a creative person myself, I know that sometimes you just have to let your mind wander and don't force it.
I actually wrote a post about the same topic as well, and also came to the conclusion that boredom can actually be positive!
https://steemit.com/sirwinchester/@sirwinchester/the-science-of-boredom-and-why-it-s-not-only-a-negative-feeling
Very true! The mind needs a time out which we rarely provide it since we are constantly bombarding it with thoughts.
Thanks for reading :)
I love this post. It is essential to disconnect from the fast paced lives we live in order to keep our sanity. Thank you. <3
Yes, disconnect to connect with yourself :)
Thanks. Lessons learned in 2016.