Reason #308: Do-Nuttins

Posted at April 29, 2010

You ever get the feeling of being paralyzed thinking that you should be doing “something,” but you’re not at all sure what that “something” you “should” be doing is, so you opt instead to do something that you are certain you should not be doing, but you do it anyway because, at least for the moment, it makes you feel better? I know I do. In those moments I might opt for a big fat-filled donut while sitting there contemplating my next move like the proverbial beat-cop relegated to a “stake-out” of life. In those moments I feel as if I am a spectator, just watching everyone and everything else fly by me. The feeling can be overwhelmingly frustrating. I just don’t have a clue what to do next. So I become a do-nuttin. Truth is there are other moments when I am just busily humming along doing exactly what I know I am supposed to be doing and life feels just fine and dandy…no worries here. So what gives? Why do I suffer these two parallel universes of action and inaction? I believe the answer lies in the fact that there are times when you are creating and times when you need to be creative. Those busy moments, when you forget everything except the task at hand, are times when you are actually creating what you should be envisioning in those empty spaces. I guess some people, those who claim to not have a “creative bone in the body,” always are either creating for someone else, or eating donuts. But I believe that the best and most life fulfilling creative activities are when we are busy with our own creations. So, in those frustrating empty moments, maybe that side of your brain that is adept at conjuring is just crying out for some attention. I have found one of the best things to do at those times is give yourself the freedom to curiously roam without guilt (even though I often find myself taking a quick glance around the room to make sure no one is watching). With the world at our fingertips in this new cyber-connected age we live in, you can really do some far-reaching roaming. Although it is best to have some purpose or theme to your cyber-surfing, other than tweeting about that donut you’re fixing to stuff in your mouth. There is no end to the wealth of information and ideas that are just waiting to be tapped into, if you can give yourself the freedom to at least try to be creative. It is actually much less guilt-inspiring than eating donuts.