In praise of nothing

Sometimes the best thing we can do is nothing, it is the simplest thing to do and yet also one of the hardest.? In a world where we’ve glorified busy and downgraded pauses in favour of making the most of every moment and being as ‘productive’ as possible we’re seeing burnout out like never before. ?It sounds counter intuitive to suggest that doing nothing is a way to achieve brilliance so allow me to explain.

The fact that we’re too busy to pause is the precise reason we need it so badly.? Yet our attitude towards rest and recovery for too long has seen it as a nice to have, a luxury item or a reward when the hard work is over.? This attitude has lead to us feeling selfish or guilty if we make time for the very thing that helps us perform at our peak and in stead we’re left with this mantra of more is always better leading us to burnout!

Whilst writing Burnout to Brilliance I discovered that it’s often our pursuit of peak performance and the more is always better mantra that is in fact leading us to burnout.? The pursuit of brilliance leads us to burnout – ironic right, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

My relationship in this space changed completely after my own burnout.? The things I do to keep myself sustainable are just as important as any meeting in my diary or item on my to do list because by investing in these pauses ensures I do a better job of everything else and that I last longer.? I liken it to going on a road trip.? We’d never dream of driving past the fuel station when the fuel light comes on. ?We pull over and refuel even though it adds minutes onto our journey because we know it's the only way we’ll reach the destination and to not do so means our vehicle is not performing at its peak.? Yet how often do we do this to ourselves.? We don’t have time to pull over or wait to refuel when we’re at the destination and then wonder why we breakdown along the way.

But there’s more to it than this.? When we press pause, take time out and refuel our tanks we create space in our brain.? We improve our cognitive function and we gain more energy.? That means anything we do after that we do a better job of.? We make less mistakes so don’t have to spend time re doing things, we solve problems and make decisions easier and our innovation improves.? It’s a concept I refer to as slowing down to speed up.? It means that what could have taken us 6 hours now only takes 5 and we do a better job of it so that pause we just invested in didn’t cost us time it created time.? But it also improved the quality of what we’re doing.? No-one is performing at their peak if they’re spread too thin, exhausted and constantly ‘busy’.

When we stop we get perspective, space and ideas, it also aids our rest and recovery.? However it’s also at odds with our societal norms around busyness and constant ‘doing’.? Our high achiever drive keeps us pushing and really struggles when we take time out.? Because we’re not getting the high of doing or the satisfaction of results when we’re taking time out.? We don’t get the instant gratification of ticking off the to do list and the positive impacts come much further down the track (less stress, better emotional regulation, increased focus, concentration, innovation, resilience, clarity and energy).

For many of us our self worth and value has been built on how much we achieve and how useful we can be to others, we get uncomfortable if we’re not contributing or being useful.? It’s why it’s so easy to throw ourselves into constant busyness – it also distracts us from any problems we have and can wind up like an addictive drug to our brains.

Why is it hard to be still?

If you’ve ever had time off between jobs or recovery time from burnout you may have noticed that you were tempted to fill it with baking, learning a new language, training to run a marathon or major house renos!? I was no different choosing to travel the world and write my first book during my burnout recovery.? Fortunately for me part of that was living in ashrams and going on silent retreats which forced me to slow down, to be still and to master the art of being not doing.? It’s through this experience I have gained the insight into the value of doing nothing.

Our society has glorified busy and doing to the point where the opposite has become undesirable.? Downtime, rest and pauses have been made to be the enemy of productivity and yet it’s the foundation from where our best work and full energy tanks come from.

Our devices have also trained our minds to be constantly absorbing, we are always looking for information or entertainment to fill a void.? Every time we get a second to ourselves we pick up our phones and seek to fill it or distract ourselves from the stillness.? Our brains are no longer conditioned to reflect, to be in the present, to idle or to rest.? We get impatient thanks to that instant gratification muscle that continues to flex and take us away from this critical skill.

It’s also uncomfortable to be still, to not DO.? Uncomfortable to be alone with our own thoughts, it’s why we seek out distractions so we don’t have to feel uncomfortable.? It’s here that our achiever high can become an addiction to offset our insecurities (am I enough, they’re doing better, what will people think?)

What’s the benefit?

Often it’s the stillness that gives rise to the best ideas, the energy to deliver and the sustainability to be our best without burning out in the process.? Our brains can’t think or create when they’re in busy or doing mode.? Tapping into the creative part of the brain and thinking is a different art, one that requires space.? Some of my most impactful things that have happened to my business happened when I was not in the office working thanks to the ideas I had!

Not only do we gain clarity and space to innovate in when our minds are still, we get perspective.? As Ram Dass said “the quieter you become the more you can hear” and we start to hear what’s important when we cut through the noise, the busyness and the distractions.

Practicing pauses and taking downtime to refuel and invest in us also means less stress, better emotional regulation, increased focus, concentration, resilience and energy.? It’s also where rest and recovery happens. The trough inbetween those peak performance waves I so often talk about. Each peak in our performance needs to be followed by rest and recovery to enable us to hit the next peak and be our best.

It’s tempting to be filling space all the time but without the space we can’t achieve brilliance both cognitively, energetically and in terms of managing our workload.

Next time you have a day off don’t schedule anything .? Try sitting for an hour (or walking) without distractions and be in the moment.? Practice the art of reflection or encourage some stillness into your day.? It might seem uncomfortable at first for all of the reasons we’ve discussed and yet it could be your secret weapon not just in the fight against burnout but in also achieving brilliance.