Niksen - The Dutch Art of Doing Nothing
In a day where 24 hours feel less have you ever contemplated the idea of 'doing nothing'?
When I was asked this question, I didn't even understand what they meant by 'doing nothing'.
Well, the Dutch called 'doing nothing' - Niksen. I like the sound of it more, sounds sophisticated and sleek. A fancy label to a rather complicated concept, we understand nothing about.
Does Niksen mean to sit idle? It does sound like it. But then am I allowed to do some thinking or maybe some overthinking while sitting idle? Or is thinking an activity, and doing nothing means no activity at all?
Of course, your involuntary actions like breathing, twitching, looking into the abyss, and sometimes involuntarily observing people you find interesting in the crowd should count as Niksen (hopefully).
The author of the book Niksen: The Dutch Art of Doing Nothing said that Niksen meant doing nothing where an end outcome or purpose is attached to the task.
With stuff such as answering emails, going to the gym, getting groceries, or reading a book, we always have an end outcome in mind. Niksen means nothing more than letting go of that end outcome. Or maybe just stop obsessing over that end outcome anymore.
But does then Niksen also not have an end outcome itself?
That is to not do tasks that have an end goal.
In the modern era, we feel great when we make the best use of our time. Rather, we are obsessed with it. The term 'best' here is super subjective and relative for everybody. We hustle for productivity and maximum output and race against time to make it happen.
So, in a world that is moving at such a fast pace, doesn't Niksen slow you down or at least give you an illusion of slowing down?
Because while you might be watering plants in the garden to justify your Niksen, your best friend would have finished 5 lessons on Coding.
Does that sound sad?
But I think Niksen isn't just about doing nothing. It's about being okay with doing things that do not directly impact our life's 5-year hustle plan.
By being mindful of what we are spending our finite time on, and how spending that time makes us feel, we are all together activating a neural network. A network that prioritizes quality of time over quantity of time.
Niksen as an art is supposed to make you feel happy about doing things that result in nothing. To crush the belief that not all your hours need to be spent doing something crazy and big. To lift the load of being useful every second of the day. To be okay with keeping our minds empty for a little while without feeling guilty.
Perhaps Niksen is your antidote to everything capitalism!
I truly hope you don't turn Niksen into another task that needs to be checked off from your to-do list tomorrow.
#mindset #niksen #nothing