Unlock Life’s Answers
Through Deeper
Questions

You spend 45 hours working every week. And when you are not working, you are thinking about working. Because the world we live in has told you that you are nothing if not productive. So, how do you deal with the guilt that comes with simply doing nothing? Do you just simmer in it, or do you scramble to find “productive” ways to relax?

The last few years have ushered in an era of hustling and self-help thinking. With influencers promoting the 4 AM lifestyle, and self-proclaimed authors selling us the generic idea of morality packaged as self-help, the personal development industry has caught many people making the hustle culture and heights of productivity their whole personality.

Don’t get me wrong, a routine is essential to one’s life to maintain a sense of adulthood. But should it really consume you entirely? As the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” That is what happens when you mindlessly chase productivity without giving yourself enough time to recharge. And I’ll hold your hand when I say this, reaching for your phone doesn’t count. Consuming a firehose of information through social media only stimulates the brain, not restores, using outrage and negative emotions to drive engagement. 

I know the next question you will ask me is how I recharge myself. Or how do I fill my cup? Quite easy, you see. Let’s break it down. 

A 2023 study on over 93,000 people, by Harvard Health, found that those with hobbies reported better health and higher life satisfaction. In my personal experience, one should pick up a hobby that resonates with their inner child. It helps provide a sense of fulfillment, serves as a powerful tool for stress relief and emotional processing, and helps individuals feel more present. Confused about where to start? It can be as simple as finally picking something off your watchlist, getting back to a book from your DNF pile, or something entirely new, like tufting a rug. Try out all the things that interest you and what sticks, sticks. 

I am going to let you in on a secret. You don’t have to do something to recharge. Sometimes, filling your empty cup looks like lying down on your bed, staring at the ceiling and dozing off until purple hues of evening paint the sky. 

When it comes to rest, relaxation and reservations around unproductivity, the thing you need to change is your relationship with stillness; the way you have learned to tie your self-worth to constant motion. Even when you are not “creating value,” you are giving your body the chance to catch up with the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions in your busy mind. 

Call it Susegad, joie de vivre or simply a moment where you need to slow down and let the world be. Take a deep breath. You have earned it!