Vacation Mode
This week, I’m headed up to a family lake house in Michigan…
Sunset over Houghton Lake, Michigan. Photo by: Michael Mazzara
I will still be working, but I’m also hoping to get some rest and do nothing but stare at the lake…
I’ve been reading the book, “Rest Is Resistance,” and looking at studies about how doing nothing and even getting bored helps our mental health.
I’m asking myself when was the last time I experienced boredom?
And to be honest, I don’t know when that was.
I’m not just talking about mindlessly scrolling social media or re-watching a show you’ve seen many, many times.
(OK, yes, I watch reruns of “Frasier” just to fall asleep at night.)
Instead, what I’m talking about is that boredom I felt as a child during hot Texas summers…
It’s over 100 degrees, so it’s actually dangerous to go outside. However, there’s not much to do in the house. We didn’t have the Internet or even a computer growing up, and there were only 5 or 6 channels on TV, no remote for the TV, and during the day, there’s nothing really to watch.
Don’t believe me? Well, I remember one summer watching the Iran-Contra Hearings with Oliver North!
I mean what child sits at home during the summer watching that?!
That just shows how there really wasn’t ANYTHING on TV!
Today, boredom is almost not a thing. We’re constantly looking for stimulation through our phones. I mean, even when I’m taking a shower, I’m playing a podcast.
I want to always feel productive, like I’m learning or doing something. Multi-tasking. Not wasting time.
However, constant stimulation actually diminishes our mental health!
Here’s what I read recently:
“Constantly engaging with TV, social media, and instant messaging triggers a surge of dopamine. While this quick hit of dopamine feels good momentarily, it causes our dopamine baseline to creep higher and higher. What was once pleasurable becomes "normal," and we need even more stimulation to achieve the same joy.”
This is why it’s good to take a break…AND BE BORED!
It can reset your dopamine levels, so you can start enjoying the simple pleasures in life again.
What it also can help you to do is get the creative juices flowing!
You know how so many times the perfect idea comes when you take a bathroom break, when you’re in the shower or taking a walk?
Well, that wouldn’t happen, if you were on the phone playing a game, talking to a friend or listening to a podcast (where other people are telling you their ideas).
Instead, it’s important to take the time to enjoy a vacation from your busy mind and the busyness of DOING.
For someone like me who loves to feel productive, this isn’t always easy, but here’s what I’m reminding myself that this relaxation will help me to:
Relax and reset my brain because we can only hold so much.
Allow an openness, so that creative ideas can flow to me.
Create spaciousness and an illusion of time (boredom is that place of teaching yourself that you have all of the time in the world!)
Get into the energy of play, creativity and flow, which helps manifest what you desire even easier!
I also want you to remember that if we’re always doing, doing, doing, then we cannot hear/taste/smell/touch/see the messages that we are meant to receive.
With Love & Gratitude,
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