I know it is only September, but my mind has already begun reflecting on 2017.

I look at where it began and I can say for certain, I’m nowhere near where I thought I’d be. I’m sure a lot of us can say the same.

To my surprise, I’m happy I can say that. My mind used to be clouded with to-do lists, thinking of new workout plans, new writing schedules, but most of all, it just wanted to feel productive. I used to believe that if I wasn’t actively always making changes in my life, I wasn’t truly living.

A moment spent watching TV was suddenly filled with guilt. Any time I went out to socialize, all I could think of was the endless amount of things I had to do at home. I was hardly ever in the moment.

For the past two months, I’ve found myself in this place of true alignment. I have my slip ups, we all do, but life suddenly has this veil of ease around it. I know exactly what is meant for me is coming my way and as for the things that trip me up? I let that shit go.

I see the obstacles coming my way through the lens of love. I know they’re meant for me and no matter how painful or terrifying they may seem, I’m confident on my pursuit through them. The Universe is only ever pushing me further towards the highest good for not only me, but the world itself.

It’s a Sunday evening and while my day started productive, I ended up lying around watching a few hours of How I Met Your Mother. I’ve become obsessed with the show and I’m nearly finished the series.

It felt incredible to be able to lay around, drink a cup of coffee, post-shower, curled up with my favorite show. These simple pleasures used to cause me a string of anxiety so being able to sit here, for the first time in a long time, and truly enjoy this moment? I feel liberated.

 

Thing is, when we are always pushing ourselves to be productive, we’re usually never coming from a place of ease. We rush through our to-do lists only to have a meltdown mid-way through due to overwhelm. Or, we finish the list, but the sense of accomplishment is only short-lived. You already made the list for tomorrow.

 

Most of us have come to believe that lying around watching TV, falling into a social media hole, or maybe even playing video games is a waste of time. Sure, in some cases, it can be. If you’re looking to these external sources to hide from your work or drown out the world, then that may not be the best idea.

However, those moments where you truly want nothing more than to unwind on your couch and get lost in a movie are far from counter-productive. You’re actually creating more time for yourself.

 

You see, when we force ourselves through the motions of life, everything feels difficult. Nothing flows.

 

You find yourself stressed over every little thing to the point where you end up watching the movie anyway to escape. Only in this case, there’s an aura of guilt around it.

Sometimes, our souls need to rest. We don’t need to be on constant alert and on this ladder of self-improvement 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s completely okay to do something for the pure joy of it.

In my case, I’ve really been enjoying HIMYM. I had a few things I wanted to get done today, like cleaning and some reading, so I turned on some music and tackled the to-do’s. I actually got a lot done, but I still had a few things left on my list.

I was feeling a bit tired and kind of in a sporadic state, so I took a step back. I took a shower. I made a rice bowl, sat down with some How I Met Your Mother for a few hours, and now I’m here. I published a blog post and now I’m already on to the second. If I had forced myself to be ‘on a roll’, I most likely would have ended tonight stressed and burnt out.

 

Taking a time out when necessary always proves to be healing. The reason I say you create more time by resting is because you completely knock out the frantic part of you. You sit down, take the breather, spend time doing something you enjoy and before you know it, you’ll be itching to get things done. You won’t feel like you have to or feel that time is running out, you’ll truly want to.

 

So, don’t knock the time-out.

 

Break out a movie, the video game, hell, even take a nap. Whatever you feel called to do to unwind, go for it. Your work will always be there for you to come back to.

I’m not encouraging procrastination, but more so, aligned action. Nothing good can come from working in a stressed, tapped out state, so by bringing yourself down to a place of ease, the things you ‘need’ to get done will flow more effortlessly. In turn, you’ll produce far better work.

Life is not meant to be treated as a means to an end. It may be a journey, but in the end, you have to understand that if you’re not happy now, you won’t be happy later.

 

Running yourself dry as a means to ‘achieve, achieve, achieve’ only leaves you with accomplishments that feel more like paper weights. It’s never enough.

 

Treat yourself with the love and care you’d treat a child. You wouldn’t expect a child to be cooped up and achieving all hours of the day – it needs time for play, time for rest. As do you.

So for today, be child-like. Turn on the TV and zone out for a bit. Take the nap. Go for a walk downtown and take in the scenery around you.

Despite what we’re told, we came to this human experience to have fun.

It’s time to act like it.