Imagine a toy, those battery toys that never stop, you know what I mean, the ones that have a song to them or a particular noise and they can go on and on until you turn the button to the OFF mode and there is finally quiet, peace, silence……. it finally STOPPED! Reality……. those toys are us, we are them, our minds never switch off and with the way we live these days we hardly ever stop. Between demands, to do lists and endless tasks, we go on and on without ever switching off. When we go on holidays or a weekend away there is more to do, other people to see, social activities and gatherings, and even though we feel we are having a break, that feeling comes from breaking our habits and doing something different, but in reality we don’t switch ourselves off until we intentionally hit the Off button.
If you know me a little bit, you will know I am action! I am active and I take action all the time, I write about action, I coach and teach the importance of taking action and to keep moving forward. I understand that by taking action we create the results we want. In complement to that, I acknowledge the NEED of non-action. We have this belief that doing more is being more, and from human beings we turned into human doings. The non-action takes place and is possible when we are able to recognise that is complementary to our visions and the life we want to create for ourselves, a life with balance, where the on and off are both as important and necessary. We give ourselves PERMISSION to be quiet when we know that this it absolutely necessary, so we can then be fully charged and on again. Like toys, our batteries run out as well and when they start to run out, our actions are compromised and not as effective. Like with the toy, when the battery runs low its functions gets slower and distorted.
In our family we all have OFF days, we like to call them like that. We understand and give ourselves permission to be OFF, we all know when one of us is having an OFF day and we let each other be. On those days, there are no demands, no expectations, we are just OFF. When my eldest daughter comes home frustrated and she beats herself up for not being able to perform to the level that she wants to, then I tell her, maybe you need an OFF day. She then understands that within ‘OFF’ lies the ability we all have to restore, re-charge, repair and give back to ourselves.
Talking about this leads me to the acknowledgment of what I call the 4 seasons of us!