How can idleness save you?
“Doing nothing is shameful,” this is what we hear first from our parents, then from teachers, then from colleagues. Everyone talks about personal effectiveness, but few remember the benefits of idleness. And they are doing this in vain!
Doing nothing – is it shameful or useful?
We are used to being efficient and competitive. Being lazy, messing around, fooling around is not about us. And today, many people consider rest not as idle “doing nothing”, but as a way to spend time with benefit: to learn something, to visit somewhere, to go to the gym once again.
The modern fashion for personal efficiency adds fuel to the fire. Scrolling through the social media feed, we compare ourselves with successful top managers or mothers of many children who receive their next higher education, go in for sports every day and manage to cook healthy breakfasts for the whole family. We are doing our best to keep up with the beautiful pictures - there is no time for rest.
Guilty without guilt
Feelings of guilt and a sense of missed opportunities arise if we are focused on high achievements. Such a position is fraught with the exhausting of all resources, sharp deterioration in well-being and, as a result, the quality of life. Therefore, you still have to rest: restoring your health or getting out of a state of deep emotional burnout.
To maintain life, we all need regular idleness: this is how the body recovers after physical and emotional stress.
The modern rhythm of life does not imply stops: we are in constant motion, often not paying attention to our needs.
To receive recognition, encouragement and love from parents is the need of every child, so he develops a scheme of “correct” behavior: I will be busy with something useful or pretend to be busy, I will be good for dad and mom, they will praise me. Such a scheme is fixed in the behavior of the child, and with age, the unconscious, as soon as we lie down on the sofa, gives a signal: you are not good enough! Feelings of guilt and anxiety turn on, which can only be removed by action. And we're back to business.
“Seal” day
In most cases, we find it difficult to disconnect from worries even when we think we are resting. Thoughts, worries, unresolved issues are constantly spinning in our heads. We think about past events and future events, forgetting about the present moment, so well and without feeling it.
But sooner or later it exhausts the nervous system and can lead to illness.
How to help yourself?
The first thing to do is turn off your gadgets and say no to any information, even entertainment. In modern conditions, the brain is overloaded with data, news comes from everywhere in a continuous stream, therefore, information detox is necessary for the full-fledged work of the psyche. Try to walk more often in the fresh air, preferably outside the city or in a park where there is no unnecessary noise, including informational one.
The most difficult way, according to the experts, is “just lying down”. Without gadgets, books, magazines, TV, Internet and music. To begin with, try just lying down for 15-20 minutes and gradually increase the time interval. Try not to think about anything, break the mental chewing gum in your head and focus on your breath. For many, this is not easy, but it is this process that allows the body and brain to truly rest.
The main goal of such a pastime is to be alone with yourself, to switch your attention inward, to your thoughts and feelings. After all, where there is attention, there is energy. And if it is inside, then it becomes easier to find balance and harmony.
Our body is a complex self-healing system. However, for recovery, you need to create conditions for it and give time. May the “inner parent”, loving and caring, allow us to rest when necessary. After all, things are unlikely to ever end, but they can definitely be put on pause - including unpaid bills and unanswered letters, unprepared reports and unwashed dishes.
Listen to what the body is asking: do you want to do what you are doing now? Unwanted activities cause us negative emotions. If you do not live them through, then unexpressed anger, fear and anxiety will accumulate and cause tension.
This applies not only to work: communication with others, time spent on the Internet or in front of the TV screen can be a negative incentive.
Pros of idleness
A healthy lifestyle does not exclude laziness. German physicians Peter Axt and Michaela Axt-Gadermann talk about this in their book Lazy People Live Longer. We offer you to get acquainted with their theses in order to be inspired to rest.
Health and longevity depend on the rate at which vital energy is expended. This is confirmed by numerous studies and observations of various animal species. Animals that move less, hibernate or are less stressed in zoos live longer. The same patterns apply to people.
The road to health, endurance and success lies through equanimity, undemanding, moderation and sometimes laziness. Getting into stressful situations, we lose peace, steal valuable life energy from our body, harm our health and, possibly, shorten our lives.
The discovery made by British researchers is music for the ears of all couch potatoes: the later we get up, the calmer and more balanced we are during the day.
Choose the area of life in which it will be easiest for you to save energy.
Those who enjoy life regularly, strengthen the immune system and get rid of stress hormones.
