The Art of Doing Nothing

<p>This past weekend was my BIRTHDAY! Normally, when it comes to celebrating a big day in our lives, my family goes exploring or takes a wild trip somewhere. So when my husband asked me what I wanted to do and I just said I wanted to go to our yurt and relax, he was more than just surprised. He didn’t even quite understand the concept. </p><p> </p><p>To him, doing <strong>nothing </strong>meant doing something mellow.  </p><p> </p><p>After settling into the yurt, I decided I’d love to drive out to one of my fave restaurants in a small town nearby, since I love having other people cook for me and not having to do the dishes</p><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/svg/1f609.svg" alt="😉" /><p> </p><p>But when we walked to listen to some live outdoor music, I felt it... </p><p> </p><p>THE WALL. </p><p> </p><p>I hit the wall and suddenly felt so tired. </p><p> </p><p>I left my husband and friends to dance the night away and went back to the yurt and let myself have some <strong>downtime</strong>. It felt like such a luxury - to sit around and not <strong>have </strong>to do anything - not <strong>have </strong>to write or do laundry or study or read scientific journals. </p><p> </p><p>I just sat there and listened to the rain - which started right when we pulled back up to the yurt. I remembered the need for this started well <i>before </i>I was exhausted too – like week back. Oops. I had put it off for too long.  </p><p> </p><p>Ideally you <strong>don’t want to wait until you’re exhausted to do nothing</strong> because it’s actually a great technique to keep you from <i>getting </i>exhausted and to keep your mind, body, and creative juices flowing. </p><p> </p><p>Now for those of us who have serious FOMO (fear of missing out), it can be hard to reign that sh*t in. We say, “Yes!” even when we’re already exhausted because we want to live life to the fullest. We don’t always understand how people could sit around and do nothing. </p><p>But a business coach of mine offered this alternative way to see it: wh