Do Nothing

A few days ago, I was working on a personal project that required a lot of creativity. I’m usually pretty creative, but the creative juices weren’t flowing. I was getting frustrated. I could feel my temperature rising and a knot twisting in my chest. My brain started pelting me with comments like, “You’re not creative,” and “This project is pointless.”

After a few minutes of allowing myself to wallow in negative self-talk, a different voice bubbled up from my gut (I realize that’s not the most pleasant visual, but over the past few years I’ve learned to trust my gut - it’s less neurotic than my mind). It said, “DO NOTHING.”

It took me a few seconds, but I decided to “do nothing.” I put my computer down and sat on the couch. I looked around the room, took a few deep breaths, spent a few minutes meditating, and then continued to do nothing. A few times during my nothingness, my brain started getting anxious, “You’re doing nothing! Start doing something! You’re not being productive!” Instead of humoring the anxious chatter, I continued to do nothing.

After about 15 minutes of nothing-ing (I guess that’s a word now), a peaceful sensation washed over me. The anxiety and frustration melted away. My hands started tingling. I felt electric. Just then, the creative juices started flowing. Every question and roadblock I had about the project disappeared. 45 minutes later, the project was done.

We live in a fast-paced culture. We’re conditioned to think, “Unless I’m working at lightspeed, I’m not working hard enough!” Working at lightspeed isn’t sustainable. There’s a reason people are burned out, hate their jobs, and lack the energy to get things done.

Sometimes the best use of your time is to do absolutely NOTHING.

When was the last time you did nothing?

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