Idleness Creates Craziness
To keep ourselves sane, we need to keep ourselves engaged.
Man is not made to rest. He is made to strive.
Viktor Frankl
Everything we do in our lives is in pursuit of eventually doing nothing.
We work hard, save our money, and try to improve ourselves, all to eventually retire and sit on a beach somewhere doing nothing.
But what if doing nothing isn’t what we think it is? What if doing nothing is harder than everything we’re doing to have the opportunity to do nothing?
The more successful we are, the less we have to do, and the less we have to do, the more time we have to turn inward. When we’re in the midst of pursuing something, we’re busy. We’re distracted. Our energy is aimed at something external.
Once the chase ends and the goal is met, we can stop targeting that pursuit, but our brains will continue searching for something new to focus on.
Meaning to the Meaningless
When we have too much time to think, our brains don’t sit idle. Instead, they create meaning from meaningless things.
The brain is designed to identify threats, solve problems, and improve our chances of survival. But in a world where many of us have our basic needs met and threats are minimal, that wiring doesn’t turn off.
If there’s nothing to worry about, our brains will create something. It searches for something to fix, even if nothing is broken.
We might obsess over someone’s tone in a text message. Worry about the weather on a day we have no plans. Rehash a conversation that no one else remembers. Not because these things matter, but because there’s nothing more meaningful occupying our minds.
When we remove all friction from life, we also remove the focus it demands. In the vacuum of comfort and ease, the mind will create something to worry about.
Busy Hands, Happy Mind
To keep ourselves sane, we need to keep ourselves engaged. Fulfillment comes not from doing nothing, but from doing something worthwhile.
We don’t need to work ourselves to death, but we do need a reason to get up in the morning. A project. A craft. A challenge. A responsibility. A pursuit that stretches us enough to keep ourselves focus on something meaningful instead of something trivial.
When we keep ourselves engaged in something meaningful we don’t even notice the meaningless bumps in the road that would completely derail us if our minds were idle.
We all seem to be pursuing a lot to gain the opportunity to do nothing at all. Perhaps we’re all better off enjoying the busyness and satisfaction of pursuing something meaningful today instead of hoping we can do nothing tomorrow.
Prompts
Do you have a worthwhile pursuit in your life that puts trivial bumps in the road into perspective?
When you have nothing to do how do you handle boredom or idleness?
What’s one small, worthwhile pursuit you could commit to keep yourself busy with something meaningful?
Deep Dive
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Explores how financial independence often reveals more about our relationship with meaning and time than with money itself.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Sunday.
Kevin