5 Reasons You Should Start Practicing Niksen - The Art of Doing Absolutely Nothing

The practice of Niksen is brand new to me, although the idea isn't. 

Niksen is the Dutch concept of doing absolutely nothing, and I found it weird to think that one could practice doing nothing. 

And yet, when you think about it, it's not like highly driven people in a world that glorifies the hustle and the grind to make time to do nothing other than, well, nothing. 

So, it does take practice to do nothing.

But apparently, doing nothing is exactly what a lot of us need. 

Niksen is as simple as sitting in a comfortable chair, looking out of the window, and letting your mind wander. 

Obviously, I'm not practicing Niksen right now, because I am concentrating on writing this blog post. 

But I have begun to work on this practice. 

Here are 5 reasons you should start practicing Niksen.

1) It is a positive, stress-fighting tactic. 

2) It gets your creative juices flowing so you can come up with new ideas. 

3) It prevents burnout, which is on the increase globally.

4) It promotes better physical health because reducing stress strengthens your immune system. 

5) People who regularly practice Niksen are happier overall. It makes sense that if you're less stressed, more creative, and healthier as a result of being less stressed, your overall happiness should improve. 

How you can practice Niksen

It might be best to start slow because most busy professionals, mothers, fathers, are not used to doing nothing. 

I suggest you begin by scheduling 5-minute blocks of time throughout the week to do absolutely nothing. From there you can increase the amount of time you spend doing nothing. 

Ideally, it would be best to block out one evening each week where you have no obligations so you can spend it doing nothing. 

I know this is going to sound like a contradiction, but when you're starting out, practicing Niksen can include taking a walk in nature, knitting, coloring (yes, you can buy coloring books for adults),  or writing a letter of gratitude. 

These kinds of activities will help to ease you into the practice of doing nothing. 

And if you can, try getting to the point where you're able to also sit quietly for a time and just allow your mind to wander. 

Start niksing today. 

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Want to get in touch with me? Great. Feel free to email me at: mikeallisoncoaching@gmail.com. I will respond. 

Have a great day.