Our kids aren’t the only ones who are over scheduled. In our pursuit of happiness, we try to take on too much, stretching ourselves to the max. And then we wonder why we collapse in a heap when we get a moment to ourselves.
It’s called burnout and working too much isn’t the only cause.
It’s the constant need to be doing something when what we REALLY need is to be doing nothing. Between the volunteering, the errands and the daily task of tidying up (let’s face it — that’s a never-ending chore), we rarely give ourselves a moment.
Even when we have the opportunity for relaxation, we clutter it up with activity. Suddenly, a family vacation turns into an ambitious tour of everything potentially interesting within a 30-mile radius. You know you’ve had one when you feel like you need a holiday to recover from your holiday.
Remember those lazy days you had as a kid where if your mother were to quiz you about what you did that day, you could legitimately say, “I don’t know” or “Nothing”? Why is it that we deny ourselves the simple pleasure of doing very little in adulthood?
When you give yourself time to idly dip your toes in the water and carefully contemplate the concentric circles, you do something that your brain needs: YOU SHUT IT OFF. You move past the to-do lists, the reminders, the “don’t forget” warning lights that flash in the back of your mind, and allow your creativity to flow.
And you know what? You will find the problems you have been struggling to solve, the ideas you have been trying to grasp, the clarity you have been looking for is just there, quietly saying “Hello. I’ve been here all along.” And you feel recharged and ready to take on the world.
