Do Nothing!

Posted by Jane on 19 October, 2009  Email This Post -  Print This Post

Here’s an idea – do nothing! Yes, really. Sometimes the best thing we can do about a problem is to do nothing at all.

You may well have been told to ‘sleep on it’ by parents, friends etc and they are right. Haven’t you noticed how really good ideas seem to ‘just come to you’ in the moments before you drift off to sleep? Or the answer to a question that has been niggling you all day just suddenly comes to you? For example, ‘What was the name of that actor in that film, the name of which I can’t quite remember!’

Visualisation

The technique of visualisation also allows us to tap into our subconscious to find solutions and improve our performance. Sportsmen have been doing it for years. Good coaches will give their student an instruction like ‘Now close your eyes and see the golf ball soaring down the fairway and landing perfectly on the green’. They do this because it’s like a mental rehearsal.

If you get really good at relaxation and visualisation you can actually bring the body to that state of relaxation we reach just before sleep. You become very relaxed allowing your subconscious space to work, yet you are still mentally alert.

The reverse also works, so an unsporting player might point out all the potential obstacles: “Watch out for that particularly nasty bit of road on your run, everyone comes a cropper there” The person immediately starts to see themselves falling or tripping at that point giving their competitors a distinct advantage!

Relax

I use the techniques of relaxation in my seminars and books because it works.  In ‘When Work isn’t Working’ I have written one specifically to help readers tap into what they really want from a career, with a visualisation of your perfect day at work.

So if you find yourself stuck for an idea, stop trying. Allow yourself to relax, do nothing, but simply sit and stare for a while! Even Albert Einstein claimed he didn’t really have any special talent at all, other than the ability to visualise so you will be in good company.

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