Achieving the Impossible by Doing Nothing – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter
people-say-nothing-is-impossible-but-i-do-nothing-every-day.-anonymous

Doing nothing is an impossible assignment for me. It is a foreign concept. Literally. They call it Niksen, Dutch for the art of doing nothing. It is uncomfortable. It feels wasteful and smacks of evil. Yes, evil. Have you not heard “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings”? They attribute the quote to Benjamin Franklin, so it must be correct. Yet, when do we do nothing? Not checking our phones, texting, or binge-watching the full season of the latest “must-see” miniseries while we mindlessly eat dinner. They teach us engaging in busyness is vital, predictive of our success. Inactivity means we are lazy, unproductive, and are not contributing to society.

Is it true? What are we producing when we view a tv show? How productive are we flitting and fluttering from task to text, juggling our over-scheduled lives? What if we took a moment to revel in the rising sun’s beauty, while we sip our morning coffee? Would calm and peace influence and have a positive impact on our entire week? Would we boost our overall daily productivity, increase creativity, become better problem solvers, and improve our mental health?

So, lately, I have tweaked my schedule to allow myself to ease into my day. I have stopped playing video games and swapped it with a program to learn another language. The substitution allows me to relax, while also enhancing my knowledge. With one minor change, I can accomplish two goals in the same time frame. And it gives me more time to do nothing.

Do you grant yourself space for nothing?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

9 thoughts on “Achieving the Impossible by Doing Nothing – Daily Quote”

  1. There never is a time when I’m doing nothing. Even if I try to sit on my hands or shut down my brain for I while, I just worry about everything, so the brain never stops.
    Like you, I must try and swap my own addiction for video games into something more beneficial though…

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  2. The quotation is ironic for being anonymous. The title for the post is truly fetching.

    If I can have a cup of coffee (tea these days) and enjoy the morning by (and) reading something, I guess I haven’t been considering that nothing, though I suppose it is. None of it is for a job, even if it might make me a more interesting person at work (though probably not). Hmm, I think you’re challenging me to redefine my notion of nothing and to affirm it. Thank you!

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    • Leave it to you, Christopher, to catch that. This quote made me laugh first, and then it made me think. The definition of “nothing” is specific to each individual. The games I played helped me to relax, but left me feeling like I had “wasted” time. The new language game bridges the gap. 👍

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