What do you do when you're doing nothing?

That's the million-dollar question.

For most of us, I can answer: we stress.

We think about what we should be doing. We accept a few hours or a few days of inactivity (what we call "rest"), but very quickly, if the inaction persists, guilt takes over.

We then trigger "reactive" action: the kind whose sole motivation is to silence the guilt.

We act "for the sake of acting," to avoid being seen as a slacker, to dissolve anxiety through movement.

People often joke that "if they could, they would do nothing, always on vacation!" But that's not true. Most would be unable to face the anxiety created by this void and would be back at work within the week.  Not out of financial need: out of internal and social pressure.

Thus, we always skip the most important step: idleness. The real kind. The kind that allows for introspection.

Keep doing nothing. Embrace the anxiety and guilt that rise up. Look them in the eye. Then watch them disappear quietly. Followed by a gentle sensation of emptiness. Then, when you least expect it...

Action. The real kind. The kind that builds something.

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Related:

• The 3 thoughts in your head (French video)
• What is reactivity and why it might not be good for you (archive)
• Under his Eye (archive)