How Does One “Downtime”?
As you get older, you start to realize that your daily schedule is packed with more “to-do” lists than ever before. Your routine starts to pick up at a rapid pace and, in some cases, there is really no way to slow down.
Finding that precious hour of down time that everyone recommends you squeeze in is not always a possibility. Even on the days that you actually have an hour to yourself, you never want to find yourself in a rut just wasting time because, a) you’re just like me and feel the need to be busy all hours of everyday and cannot accept/spare an hour of your time because there just has to be something you can do instead or b) you’ve been so busy lately that you have no energy to do anything other than shut the conscience off and hit snooze.
Now, I’m going to tell you something you may not hear quite often: doing either, neither, or both of those is completely okay. If you like being busy, stay busy. However, if your stress comes from a constant need to be busy, then I recommend taking some down time. Down time, though, should not be something that makes you feel even more stressed than you were before. It should leave you feeling mentally refreshed and detoxicated. In the end, time to yourself should reset your motivation.
Being selfish is a theme I’ve crossed paths with over my years as a high school student and (now) a college sophomore. I’ve been told that if I don’t make the first move or take initiative, someone else is going to take my spot. And while being selfish in that sense – stepping outside of your comfort zone and going after what you really want in life – can be a good thing, it can also lead unto a path where your mind is constantly moving at 80 miles an hour. You end up losing sight of your current life in favor of a life ten years down the road.
Folks, thinking ahead is not a bad thing. Planning, making lists, and filling your planner is a kind of routine we, as students and adults in general, have inevitably succumbed to. You should never, though, envelop yourself so deep into a strict routine that you fear you will lose sight of what’s ahead and what has to be done to get there. Unconsciously, you may end up in a state of mind where you think being productive is necessary to being successful because, sooner or later, you’ll get your life together and the puzzle will just fall into place.
We all secretly hope, and even believe that we’ll end up having it all together someday. The problem with that though, is that we forget that someday is a place we will never recognize until we recognize today. Someday is a no name, and someday may never come because in a way, someday is today. If you don’t take initiative now to really think about yourself and the person you are in this moment, you will never reach someday. In a way, that “someday” point in your life where everything is all together and life is flawless is somewhat impossible. Bad days may lie ahead, but you will always have the ability to control how you handle the situation and you feelings in the end. Essentially, you have the ability to control yourself and that all starts with down time.
Do you remember when you were a kid and your biggest dilemma was choosing which box of Crayola crayons to buy? You knew that you wanted to be the kid with the 64-pack and a built-in sharpener, but you also didn’t want to be known as the copy-cat who followed everyone else. Back then, being a copy-cat was the worst thing you could be named. And now, you’ve blossomed from a copy-cat into one who fears being a follower, because according to the wise adults we are supposed to idealize, being a leader is always the way to go. But in reality, if we’re all taught to be leaders, no one will follow our path for he or she will be on their own.
For me, I’ve always been the type of person who sees drive in someone else and craves that for myself. I constantly ask myself whether what I’m doing is beneficial to myself as a person. I’ve learned that doing things simply because I’m told it will make me happy, versus finding out on my own, never leads to a reflection of myself that I am proud of. This reflection will simply show someone I no longer recognize due to the lack down time I’ve given myself.
Now, contrary to what some believe, self-reflection does not have to be a sort of zen movement that is only possible during meditation in a dark room full of candles. Self-reflection can be reintroduced by doing things that allow your brain to actively consider your next move without feeling like plan a) and plan b) are the only two options in your life.
This world is full of color. It’s full of dark color and it’s full of light color, and those in between are never limited by any law of nature. Your eyes can see purple and another’s eyes can see yellow, and both sets of eyes see that color as confident. Confident because that color will never fade and no other color will be like it. You, yourself, are also a color. You’re your own person, your own being, and your own light. Some may see you as dull and some may see you as bright.
The way you see yourself can be looked at as fight or flight. By choosing flight, you choose to pass through life without knowing what’s truly going on around you. But by choosing to fight, you tackle life and give yourself the time to really sit back and think, “who was I yesterday, who am I today, and who do I want to be tomorrow?”
To find your will to fight, start by forcing an hour between your bulleted list. Within that hour, I recommend you start coloring. Coloring? You mean, like, go to Target and grab a children’s coloring book? “I’m not three!” You may say. Well, yes, that is true. But personally, I was in love with coloring as a child. I lived for the colorful pencils and markers and for staying inside the lines to show my parents my Picasso-like artwork after school. I lived for the concentration and for the ability to choose any color I wanted on a blank canvas where your lion didn’t have to be brown and your eyes didn’t have to be blue. Your lion could be green and your eyes violet, and no one could tell you you were doing anything wrong.
I think that coloring should spark its way back into your life. You’ll reconnect with yourself and with the idea that you can choose how you see yourself and the world aorund you. No one can tell you you’re living life wrong because who’s to say there is a right and wrong way to live? It is up to you whether another’s person’s no is your idea of yes.
You can choose to live in the shadows of someone else, or you can choose to mark your footprints. For if you cast yourself aside, you’ll ultimately be outside the lines.