Something that I have heard from many trainers and physiotherapists is that, to be well exercised, rest is as important as doing all your exercises. Whenever I hear that I say "Then why am I not bigger? I have rested all my life." No of course not, just kidding. But being serious, they are right. What they are referring to is that it is not only about exercising and waiting for your muscles to grow, it is also about giving them adequate rest, getting a good night's sleep, etc. Ultimately, it's not just about what you do, but also what you don't do. To be successful, you must not only do certain things, you must also avoid doing others. People always say things like that Arnold trained up to five hours a day to be so big, but no one says that after exercising, each of his muscles would rest more than forty hours until his next session. Yes, he trained that amount of time every day, but every day he trained different muscles because he had to rest the muscles in his body long enough for them to grow. Without rest, there is no growth.
Rest is very important, since you cannot do something intensely for a long time without resting. If you do something for very long periods of time, chances are that you do it at a lower intensity range because you can't give one hundred percent of yourself one hundred percent of the time, that's impossible. That's why we sleep. People today have this idea of productivity in mind, they believe that they can be productive for eight hours a day, five days a week, for dozens of weeks a year. That's impossible. Not even Arnold worked that hard on his muscles. Again, rest is important, sometimes it is important to do nothing, because sometimes the only option is either to do nothing or to do things wrong, and it is always better to do nothing than to do it wrong. I even think that many times doing nothing can be classified as something that is done, and as the best thing to do.
Again, that's why we sleep, that's why sleep is necessary. It is said that it is advisable to sleep eight hours a day, do you know how much that is? If we sleep eight hours we are sleeping a third of the day, that means that a third of all our time, of all our life, we spend sleeping. Of course, if we follow the recommendations. Think about this, that means if you are at least 30 years old, you have literally spent 10 of those years in your bed. And you know what's funny? That even if you sleep that many hours, you won't have enough energy to live the rest of your hours intensely. You need to rest even awake. At some point you may feel that time is not enough, but that will only happen if you try to push yourself to do an excessive amount of things that you are not capable of doing.
The modern world has a very hectic and busy lifestyle that demands a superhuman amount of energy. It is not only work, it is everything, like everything, many people are always pushing themselves to do more, and even many times more is not enough. I think it is very important that we learn to do nothing, it is very very important. Sometimes I have realized that many people find it more difficult to do nothing than to do something, contrary to what one might think. Even many people prefer to do the wrong thing before doing nothing, it is as if we are afraid of omission. I think we have been taught that we must do something all the time, and therefore sometimes we feel pressure to do anything that we cannot even rest. In general, I think that a lot of times a good advice would be that doing nothing is the best thing to do. Sometimes you have to let the mud settle for the water clears.
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I agree, rest is necessary, sometimes we want to take advantage of more time in daily activities but I feel that when I am very exhausted I make mistakes or I am slower, that's when I say it's time to take a nap or catch up on sleep.
Absolutely true.
I have a funny quote for you:
It's not exactly matching your theme, because it's all about "doing". :)
I wonder who on earth is truly able to do nothing. Haven't met anyone. Even I am mostly doing something, if only it is thinking.
I like it. Although also, the more wrong you do the right thing, the less right it is.
This part reminds me of an old story about a king who wanted to go north, and when he started to march, someone stopped him and told him he was going south. The king replied "but my horses are the fastest". "But you are going in the wrong direction," they replied. "My chariots are the best," the king insisted. "You don't understand. The faster your horses are and the better your chariots are, the farther you will be from the north."
Yes, I was thinking about that today, about how we tend to talk about nothingness, and how, when we do, we turn the nothing into something. I even wrote something about it. But not for post. Of nothingness, nothing is said. No one can do nothing, because then "nothing" would be something that is done. In any case, I would be doing something. But what I was referring to was what we conventionally refer to as "nothing." That is, rest, think, avoid overdoing things, etc. Things that we would consider "unproductive", such as stopping to observe what you are doing and being aware of the moment.
But yes, you are right. Thanks!
Smile, yes. It hints at what we've talked a lot about: that nothing stays fixed but changes. Can you give an example, though?
I really like that story about the king. I am searching for those kinds of little stories ... actually, I should start keeping track of them and make a collection.
Yes, of nothingness, nothing is said.
I am really bothered by over-actions. I live in a world where people cannot wait, cannot be patient, cannot give time, leisure, rest and feast when it's appropriate. Today is a hard day for me. I was listening to the German Corona Committee where a whistleblower talked about patience files and the (over)treatment of the old and sick in nursing homes and hospitals. It moved me so much, while out there is hypocracy on a grand scale. ... Sigh...
It's a difference to die by chance or by false and impatient/anxious or over-confident treatment.
Have a good morning :)
How is it possible that nothing stays fixed and at the same time change? :)
Well, most of the time an action like "telling the truth" can be the right action. But, I've really come to realize that many times it doesn't matter just what you say but how you say it. Sometimes the way you say something is even more important and has more impact than what you say itself. Then, if a person says that truth with the wrong words, or omits some things and says others, or if he explains it in a simple way or obfuscates, well, all these make him say it in a more wrong way, and therefore, that the action is less right.
Then you memorize them. And you speak through fables to anyone who asks you anything. You could be so wise and mysterious. :)
Sorry about that, but you can't even imagine it. This hypocrisy has always been there, we live in a world where there is still slavery, war crimes and torture, and many worse evils, but many people keep talking as if these things only happened in the past, and as if we had a higher moral to that of our ancestors.
Thanks! Although here it is not morning, but rather afternoon. The same to you. Cheers!
HaHa, you almost tricked me :)
Good example, thank you. Very explosive in its execution. You can fall into so many traps. Yes, you're right, it depends on how you say something. I have realised that asking questions is often the better way to be truthful with each other. With the disappointing result that I have to admit that I have not yet mastered the art of asking questions.
That sounds. :) I tried that, indeed, in the past. For some time I was writing down those stories and kept three or four in my mind. But instead of sounding mysterious, my listeners found me not mysterious at all. LOL.
Unfortunately I can. Too much, I guess.
And true what you say. The evil is always abroad or in the past. Ignorance sends its greetings.
Have a good afternoon :)))
I am going to bed and will wake up at five or six in the morning.
It's an art, isn't it? Because you have to know what questions to ask, and that is often not so simple.
Haha... It's a matter of practice.
Anyway, see you. And... good night.