Do Nothing!

I’ve been trying to think of a new blog post to write the past few days, but nothing hugely inspirational has come to mind. I’ve been writing my upcoming ebook, redesigning my newsletter, and rocking along on the Wreck This Journal experiment, so I really haven't had a ton of inspiration for blog posts.

The truth is, however, sometimes the best thing we can do on our path to achieving our dreams is DO NOTHING!! Believe it or not, sometimes just sitting back and doing nothing is the missing ingredient that allows everything to come together and fall into place.

In our society, it is easy to get caught up in the trap of doing more, wanting more, and thinking we’re not good enough if we’re not constantly on-the-go and taking action towards achieving our goals or dreams. If we lose ten lbs., we want to lose five more. If our friend gets a promotion, we start going for one too. If we haven’t yet achieved something on our vision board, we wonder what’s wrong with us and start taking extra steps to make it happen.

I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me, though, when I say there are some days when action just plain doesn’t feel good! In fact, it feels like if you do one more thing you might just collapse and have a really hard time getting back up off the couch. Especially if you are juggling a job, a business, children, spouse, a workout practice, etc., or some combination of all that!

Sometimes our bodies need time to rest and recover, and just take a break from all the activity that has been going in our lives… and that’s okay! In fact, it’s needed from time to time and it’s actually better to take restorative breaks every now and then rather than crashing and burning from too much activity, whatever that looks like for you. Give yourself permission to just BE, to just go with the flow of life, and not have to constantly be doing, doing, doing.

I say, take as much action as feels right at a given time, but then allow yourself to take a few days off when needed, or just when the inspiration’s not there. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong or that your dreams aren’t going to come true; quite the contrary, sometimes it just means that you’ve done everything you’re required to do and now the rest is up to the Universe! Things might be taking place behind the scenes to bring your dreams to reality that you’re not even aware of. You might not be feeling inspired because you are not intended to do anything right now, except relax and take some time for yourself.

If it feels especially difficult to allow yourself some time off, question the thoughts you are telling yourself that make it seem so impossible. Be on the lookout for black and white thinking like, “If I don’t publish this article today, no one will ever hire me as a writer again!” Or, “If I don’t clean the house perfectly before tonight, my spouse won’t love me as much.” Use Byron Katie’s The Work or another process to challenge these beliefs in your mind so they don’t seem so set in stone. Remember, a belief is just a thought you have repeated many times and it can be changed!

So if you're feeling like doing nothing is the best thing for you right now, give yourself permission to do just that... and I'll do the same. :-)