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The Compelling Evidence That Shows “Doing Nothing” Is Required For Optimal Brain Functioning

I stumbled onto this article that was just released recently on PsychologyToday.com.

It’s called, “Wired for Success: How to fulfill your potential” and it’s written by Ray Williams.

(He provides leadership training and executive coaching to executives. He is co-author of Ready, Aim, Influence, and author of The Leadership Edge, Breaking Bad Habit.)

why you need time to think

In this article he says something very important.

He says that not enough people believe the compelling evidence which shows that “doing nothing” is required for optimal brain functioning.

Not only that, he goes on to say this…

“Manfred Ket De Vries, INSEAD Distinguished Professor of Leadership development and Organizational Change, writing in INSEAD Knowledge argues, ‘In today’s networked society we are at risk of becoming victims of interaction overload. Introspection and reflection have become lost arts as the temptation to ‘just finish this’ or ‘find out that’ is often too great to risk.’

“De Vries argues that working harder is not working smarter and in fact, setting aside regular periods of “doing nothing” may be “the best thing we can do to induce states of mind that nurture our imagination and improve our mental health.”

One other thing he says is…

“The problem is we have lost the knowledge of balancing action with reflection. And the result can be psychological burnout.”

This is exactly what my “The 3 Keys to Increased Focus, Efficiency, and Creativity” is all about giving you the ability to do.

The “3 keys” give you three simple ways to create more “space” in your life (even if you don’t think you have any), so that you can figure out how to work smarter and live smarter.

8 Days Left

I have applied the 1st and 2nd keys and have had some great mental planning times and epiphanies! My husband and I have also applied the 1st key together and it has been some of our greatest connections.”
Pamela Maddox

Too many things are pulling at us these days.

There are too many things to distract us.

But let’s be honest.

 

  • It’s not a lack of opportunity that holds us back in most cases, it’s that many times we don’t see the opportunity that’s right in front of us.
  • It’s not a lack of time that keeps us from getting our work done, it’s the fact that we can’t decide what’s the most important thing that we should be focused on. (It is a flaw in a business setting, but it’s “fatal” in our personal lives.)
  • It’s not that the problems that we’re facing are insurmountable, it’s that we don’t have the time to think about them and come up with the solutions to these problems.

NOTE: At the link above you’ll find:

 

  • video describing who the “3 keys” can help the most 
  • Another testimonial from someone who has tried them 
  • What Henry Ford said is the weakness of us all 
  • And more

 

Photo by scragz

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About Scott Aughtmon (1958 Articles)
I’m author of the book 51 Content Marketing Hacks. I am also a regular contributor to ContentMarketingInstitute.com and I am the person behind the popular infographic 21 Types of Content We Crave. I’m a business strategist, consultant, content creation specialist, and speaker. I’ve been studying effective marketing and business methods (both online and offline) since 1999. ===> If you would like to see ways that we could work together, then please click here to learn more.