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IH001 - The Importance of Doing Nothing

Prior to the pandemic, life was on fast forward. Work was nuts, bars and restaurants were jammed, schedules were packed, traffic was bad and getting worse. There was not enough time on our days to do it all.

And then, COVID-19.

The world stopped. And so did we. We now find ourselves sitting alone with our thoughts. Scrolling through Facebook or binge-watching Netflix series after Netflix series. We’re doing a whole lot of nothing. But there’s a lot we can learn about ourselves and the world around us when we embrace nothingness.

In today’s episode, I discuss the importance of doing nothing and why it’s a muscle or skill you can build and hone. I discuss how nothingness encourages creativity and innovation, creating both contrast and focus in our lives while allowing us to face the truths of our current reality. I discuss how businesses and organizations can benefit from encouraging their employees to take time off to ‘just be’ and do nothing. I also discuss how the quietude forced upon us during the COVID-19 pandemic has created a profound opportunity for personal growth, placed a spotlight on humanity, and challenged us to learn how to create from within without requiring external forces to define the trajectory of our lives.

“We all have the capacity to create something from nothing. The key is a combination of courage and time.”

- Chris Colbert

This week on Insert:Human

Society’s perspective on worthiness
Harvard Business Review contributor, Peter Bregman’s perspective on the ‘white space’ in life, why it’s important, and why he believes it’s a muscle you can build
The importance of encouraging your staff to stay home and do nothing
Addressing unfounded fears and feelings of discomfort around doing nothing
How to embrace doing nothing and how it can help eliminate the stress and worry of our daily lives
How the world has shifted from ‘pull’ to ‘push’ and how the blank space it creates has impacted us and our children
Why learning how to deal with nothingness is hard, but not impossible
How the COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on humanity and created a profound opportunity for personal growth

Some Key Quotes:

“What if the best life preserver is not doing more - but rather, doing less? In fact, doing nothing.”
“To do nothing, we must find the courage to let go of all that we think we have to do - and replace it with a silent contemplation of what we could and should do.”
“When the omnipresence of pull recedes to be replaced by push, we feel a quiet desperation emerge in ourselves and our children.”
“That is what makes these unprecedented times a form of opportunity, of profound opportunity - the chance to change the context of our lives from pull to push.”

Resources Mentioned:

The Importance of Doing Nothing article
Not Enough Time? Try Doing Nothing by Peter Bregman, Harvard Business Review
From Push to Pull: How to Manage Our Time in Disquieting Times article

Insert:Human - For a Better Life & Better World

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001 | The Importance of Doing Nothing

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IH001 - The Importance of Doing Nothing

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