Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before fatigue.
- Jules Renard
A few months ago, I realised something unexpected: laziness does not equal rest. I will never rest when I am lazy, and I have never heard of anyone resting either.
Interestingly, all my life I have heard dreams of various people I know that one day they will go to the seaside and have a good time there. They will lie down on a sun lounger, pick up the magazine Žmonės and lie blissfully on it for a week.
I say - nonsense! If you want to relax, you will never relax like this! I have been making this mistake myself for a long time, and only recently have I realised how to take it easy and finally get some rest.
Differences
- Rest is... Go for a pleasant walk in good weather.
- Laziness is... Sitting on YouTube watching videos I've already seen three times, and having my bachelor's thesis thrown aside.
- Rest is... A 20-minute afternoon nap on a hot day.
- Laziness is... Going to bed as late as possible and trying to get everything done in the morning.
- Rest is... Slow reading of a good book with a cup of tea or coffee.
- Laziness is... Reading a junk magazine and beating yourself up over unmopped floors.
- Rest is... Eating very tasty food slowly while savouring its flavours.
- Laziness is... Stuffing a kebab from a kiosk and beating yourself up over calories.
Notice the difference? Rest is rest for the body and spirit, a break from every full-time work. Meanwhile, laziness is rest from All thoughts and works.
And what is wrong with this rest "from everything"? Well, the description itself answers that question - it's a break from everything, and not what it should be take a break.
How not to be lazy
It is a common mistake to think that on holiday it is best to forget all the troubles of life and just turn off your head to watch a movie or sleep.
Unfortunately, that's only partly true - the best relaxation is not by throwing work away, but by replacing Others. Here are some tips on how to take a more equitable approach to recreation:
1) Understand that your body needs rest.
Six months ago, I was reading a book by the 1st century philosopher Seneca collections of letters. Seneca made the rather correct observation that for every person, every body needs rest. Wine and other pleasures are not good when you enjoy them every day, but they are simply a necessity for everyone. Without indulging in the pleasures, you will exhaust your own body and thus not be able to finish your work.
What Seneca recommends is simple: when you feel you need to rest, rest. But don't do it for yourself, don't do it because you WANT to, but do it for your body. Simply put: treat your body like a hot engine that needs to be cooled down from time to time.
2) If you rest, rest.
Buddhist wisdom says that if you don't notice a river flowing, you won't feel it. If you are resting, enjoy the moment, don't listen to someone who tells you that reading People magazine is a bad thing, just keep reading it.
But the more important part is that when I rest notice that you are doing it. Realise that you are resting, don't beat yourself up, don't torture yourself with thoughts that maybe you shouldn't rest - everyone needs rest, remember?
3) If you really want it, you need it.
"It's not healthy to give up", go the lyrics of a song. Maybe if you really want to take a break from that nasty job, you don't need it?
Listen to what you want, and maybe that bad, boring, uninteresting, useless job is just that. Why are you doing it if it is not necessary? Think about it, and if you really don't need the job, throw it away and just work less.
4) Work is liberating.
There are works that Someone must do. That someone may be you. If there are important things you have to do that affect other people's futures, do them before you go to bed.
Finish your work and just get it out of your head - if it's done, it's a well-deserved rest!
Well, has this already inspired you to take a serious break? 🙂