Society is obsessed with being busy; working too much, having too many social obligations, taking your kids to activities every night.

If you ever truly want to freak someone out, tell them you're doing nothing when they ask about your weekend plans ;)

Why do we feel the need to schedule ourselves within an inch of our life?

Our self-worth is tied to achieving and productivity. We feel like we need to check off items from our to-do list in order to feel that we've been "useful."
Everyone else is doing it, so we feel like it's the right thing to do. As human beings, we have a tendency to follow the crowd even if the crowd is heading in the totally wrong direction!
We use busyness to distract ourselves from unpleasant feelings or thoughts. We feel that we can out-run our anxieties, discontent and overwhelm.
We have been taught that doing nothing=being lazy=being a bad person.
It can be really uncomfortable when you try to initially do nothing.

There are lots of understandable reasons why we get caught in the cycle of busyness, but it comes with price. Our physical health can suffer if we are eating meals on the go, not sleeping enough and fuelling the frantic pace with nothing but caffeine and sheer will.

Our emotional health can suffer too. If we are on the go all the time, there can be feelings of overwhelm, feeling like we are always running behind, always planning the next thing.

Our relationships can suffer. When was the last time that you hung out with your partner and enjoyed each other's company? Do you mostly see your kids when you're chauffeuring them to the next activity? We may not have time to spend time with the truly important people in our lives because we are too busy.

So, here's a challenge for you! Once you finish reading this post, put down the phone or close your laptop, and just sit! You can focus on your breath and check in with how you are feeling. Are there any kinks or discomfort in your body? Just sit (or stand if you just realized that you have been sitting for way too long!).

You may find this really uncomfortable. You may only be able to handle a minute or two. That's totally okay! Try to do this a few times a day (you may want to set a do-nothing alarm as a reminder).

Commit to doing nothing and before you know it, you'll eventually be lounging on your sofa, looking out the window and feeling nothing but awesome!