Doing Nothing Effectively

A number of years ago now, my supervisor challenged me to go to a park bench and sit there for 2 hours. No reading. No planning. No inner story-telling. No fidgeting. … No texting.

Do nothing for 2 hours. She may have actually said 4 hours. It didn’t matter, since I quickly discovered that doing nothing for 15 minutes was not possible for me at the time.

That began my journey into meditation: I was intrigued that I couldn’t sit quietly and simply be for any appreciable time. I wanted to learn how to do that, and see how it might improve my life.

Well, many years later, I can say that I did learn how to do that, and it did improve my life. I can also say that it was only one of many inter-related things that I wove into my life that made it possible for me to be able to accomplish this.

To begin with, my only goal was to see if I could do it and how it might positively impact me. The rest came as a result of moving in that direction.

Ironically, it’s how I learned to focus on working with others like me who are always active and like being that way. Because, in the end, what all this effort and time on meditation and like activities did for me was that I began to truly accept myself just as I was. And really like and appreciate myself in that way.

Learning to do nothing effectively for 2 hours gave me a moment of being present to myself in my world that ended up beginning the journey that I’m still on.

Quote of the Week

Doing nothing can sometimes be the most effective form of action.

• Kevin Kwan

All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

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Maryanne Nicholls is a Registered Psychotherapist.  To find out more, gain access to her weekly newsletter, meditations and programmes, sign up at www.thejoyofliving.co .