Why we need quieter days
- Business, Mental Fitness, Mindset & Self-Trust, Physical Health, Wellbeing
- Written by Sami Rainbow
There was a time when I wore exhaustion like a badge of honour.
Late nights at the computer, skipping rest, turning down invitations, believing that if I just kept pushing, pushing, pushing… eventually it would all pay off.
That’s the lie Hustle Culture sold me – and I bought it wholeheartedly.
That’s what Hustle Culture teaches us: that if you’re not using all your spare time to work on your business, you just don’t want it enough. Whatever “it” is for you – success, loadsa money, industry standing, to prove to your old teacher that you would amount to something after all.
But Hustle Culture extends beyond the work place. The overarching message being: if you’re not constantly busy, you’re not doing life right.
The seduction of Busyness
As Alain de Botton observes in his book, A Simpler Life, “The cult of busyness insists that a good life, indeed the only life worthy of a capable and intelligent person, is one of continuous activity and application; we must strive relentlessly to fulfil every ambition, and every hour must be filled with intense activity.“
The thing is, that old saying about all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy… it’s true. Take it from one who’s been there, done that, and got the chronic stress scars to prove it.
What I’ve come to realise, though, is that the saying goes way deeper than I first thought. It’s not just about being a dull person in terms of conversation topics and boring your companions – though if you’re talking about work all the time, that certainly is boring.
It’s also that, as a person, you become duller…
- Your shine is dulled.
- Your motivation is dulled.
- Your energy levels are dulled.
- Your enthusiasm is dulled.
- Your love of life is dulled.
You don’t notice it happening at first. It’s gradual. A dimming, not an on/off switch.
As the psychiatrist, Dr. Stuart Brown has said, “The opposite of play is not work – the opposite of play is depression.”
And that’s certainly where I found myself – exhausted, depleted, and unable to feel anything at all. Depression. It’s not fun, I don’t recommend it.
What's the answer?
I like the antidote to the cult of Busyness that Brene Brown shares in her book, Dare To Lead, “If we want to live a life of meaning and contribution, we have to become intentional about cultivating sleep and play.”
It comes back to intention.
This modern world we’ve created for ourselves will always want an extra piece of skin from you, and will take it without even asking if you let it. So it comes back to you, your intention, your boundaries, and the life you want to create for yourself.
Because in the quiet times of rest, sleep, play, and the completion of mundane domestic chores, that’s where we start to recover (and then maintain) our shine.
The healing power of quiet days
Simple days, the ones where nothing much happens and you seemingly don’t achieve anything are anything but wasted.
On these days, perhaps…
- you fold the washing
- you feel the warm water as you wash the dishes
- you take a slow walk in the crisp air
- you cook something comforting
- you watch the sky shift from apricot to indigo as evening settles in
- you sink into a warm bath and exhale
As Alain de Botton puts it, “As we’re going about these simple tasks, we can untangle our thoughts and feelings.”
Because in these soft pockets of time, the in-between moments, the time when we give ourselves space to be rather than always doing, we find our mind will wander in all sorts of interesting directions… creativity, problem-solving, or simply enjoying being alive.
And how, dear reader, does it get any better than that?
Coming back to life
If any part of this feels familiar – the exhaustion, the quiet sadness, the slow dimming of your spark – please know this: there is nothing wrong with you. You are not lazy. You are not failing.
You are tired.
And tired people don’t need more productivity hacks. They need gentleness. They need space. They need quiet days.
So if you’re craving a slower, quieter way of living, consider this your permission slip. Your life doesn’t need to be filled to the brim to be meaningful. Sometimes the simplest days are the ones that bring us home to ourselves.
And if you’re craving more spacious, sustainable ways to build a business, we explore these themes inside The Enrichment Collective. You’re warmly invited to take a look.
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