Doing Nothing Is Doing Something

People tend to feel an extreme amount of guilt for doing nothing.

Let me define nothing:

When you have no plans for a day, whether that be working, chores, errands, whatever it is, that is doing nothing.

For instance, when I have a day off and want to be alone, I feel the need to create important tasks for me to do so I look busy. I did this all the time. I’m off on a Monday and I simply want to sit at home and just watch my favorite shows.

But here’s the catch.

When someone in your life texts you, calls you, contacts you in anyway and you respond with the actual truth of what you are doing, it somehow means you are available and at their disposal.

NEWS FLASH.

That is simply not true. What you call nothing is actually something to me. What I choose to do in my free time is what I want to do. It’s how I want to spend my day. It means something to me.

I’m not saying that these certain individuals are bad people. They just have their priorities in the wrong order. There are people that are just busy doing something all the time. They never have any down time and they typically expect those close to them to be the same way. In their mind, if you are just at home reading a book, you can do whatever they need you to do. Reading doesn’t seem important to them, like it would someone like me.

Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

The big takeaway from this is that perspective is very important. Those that are constantly doing look at the world differently than people like me. I enjoy getting to watch my favorite shows and reading my favorite books. I enjoy going to bed a little earlier and winding down with a good crime documentary. These activities assist my brain in slowing down. They take my mind off of the one million thoughts coursing through it. They relax me and that’s okay.

What isn’t okay is guilting an individual into doing something for you because you think they’re doing nothing. You don’t get to decide what they do or what’s important to them. I can’t fathom constantly going and doing all the time. However, I respect it. Fully. Those that are always doing something have to give the same respect to those that want/need time to themselves to wind down. Some people just need some solitude.

We just need to take the time to think about those around us. We need to think about each more than we do now. Don’t assume when someone is sitting at home watching TV or reading a book that they are free for whatever you need. I will always respect your need to be constantly doing things. I don’t understand it, but the respect still is present.

Consider the perspective of others before jumping to conclusions.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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