The modern society is a hamster wheel, and suffice to say we humans are the hamsters. Day in and day out, we lead robotic lives which start in the morning by being woken up by an alarm clock and going to bed all groggy. 



We are in perpetually hectic schedules and being busy all the time is the new trend. Even if we are not busy, we like to think that we are occupied or we should be occupied.

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So, it is a fact that the modern person, is an overworked person. Of course, we are spending most of our times to build a life for ourselves and that is totally fine, it’s encouraged actually. But we do need to remember that our bodies have limits.



Even a machine wears and tears the more it is operated. Since our bodies are biological machines, they show wear and tear too but it is not only our physical bodies that show this. We have a whole psychological level of being that gets exhausted too.



THE RAT RACE


This is why it is really important to have time outs on a regular basis. I used to overwork myself all the time, to the point where I was not even sure if I was dead or alive, even though I have always been a ‘chill’ kind of a guy my whole life.



But then, I realised something really important. Getting there is more important than the speed at which you get ‘there’. Today’s society has engrained a competitive nature in all of us and we feel like we are in a race, all the time!



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Life is full of abundance and there is enough for everybody to go around. This sense of limitation we have, coupled with today’s corporate culture is the key reason why there is this rat race going on in the world today. 



If only we took a step back and realised that this was not true, we could all go about our business in a more relaxed way. All I see is that we are making it hard on our own selves. That’s very foolish for an intelligent species!



DOING NOTHING


We should all take some time out of our ‘busy’ schedules to do absolutely nothing. It may sound like a really bad advice, right? You may ask why you would simply not do other things like travel, or play video games, if the objective is to unwind.



That is true. We often take time outs for other things that we love in life like listening to music, hanging out with friends, going on a road trip and what not. You should absolutely do these. Life would be incomplete without these things.



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But ‘doing nothing’ is one more item you should add to that list. It may sound boring and counter productive and a total waste of time to be doing nothing. At this point, you may even be questioning my sanity, but trust me I am sane.



Laying around in a bed or sitting on a bench at the beach, or just about anywhere else and just spending time alone is very relaxing. In fact, Aristotle said, “Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.”



I don’t know about god but we are definitely wild beasts given the amount of work we do as a race.



BENEFITS


For those of you, who are still not sure about this, let me quickly lay down some benefits of taking time to do nothing, after all we humans understand the language of cost and benefit more easily.



It can heal the burnout that we experience on a daily basis. Some downtime lets our physical bodies and mind to heal and relax. And no, sleeping alone won’t do it. You have to break the pattern.

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It can boost your creativity. That’s because, when we are alone and doing nothing, our minds seem to wander and notice things that we never thought about before. This boosts creativity which may be helpful in the work life as well.



Finally, it’s important to disconnect from everything else and to connect to your inner self. I might sound like a guru right now, but trust me, if nothing else, it will help you see the bigger picture of your life, if you just stepped back for a while.