Rest for the "Doing Machine" ….. when Work is Slow

Have you ever noticed that when you don’t have much work to do, you don’t slow down, but actually rev up?
As a self-employed woman, I constantly am doing, doing, doing … “trying” to create more work. Now, certainly that’s a normal inclination. When we need something, we go after it. To have more work, there’s networking, schmoozing, prospecting, calling, writing articles, posting on social media sites, blogging, talking about what we need, etc.
All of that is necessary. But, here’s the distinction.
Did you ever try to pass a camel through the eye of a needle?
Or did you ever wait for a pot to boil or a flower to bloom?
Sometimes, everything you’re doing, although important and helpful, just doesn’t produce. Often, when that happens, instead of waiting, we do more, and more, and more .. ad nauseum. I refer to this as my/our DOING MACHINE being on automatic pilot. I keep DOING. Is there a point at which to stop?
For example, I sometimes tell a joke or a funny story. If I don’t pause to wait for the audience to “get it”… if I keep talking, I’ll lose the impact. The laugh will never come. So, I pause and I wait.
Well, let’s go on that premise now.
If all you do is DO….. then you’re not allowing things or yourself a time to simmer, so to speak.
There’s another distinction here and that is the difference betwee
DOING and BEING.
To BE is just to allow yourself space to exist, separate from what you do.
Ex: You can’t be DOING a performance (not if you truly are a performer.) You must be BEING a performer. You can’t be DOING lawyering, you must be BEING a lawyer.
As a speaker, I CAN get up and speak, but I must be BEING a speaker.
So, herein lies the question: Who can I be BEING rather tha
DOING when things are not going so well or are not so productive or happening?
My premise is that if I take a REST from the DOING, perhaps things will begin to happen on their own. Ponder: Can you change the direction of the tides? No, but if you wait/rest, the tides will change themselves.
Here are some ideas about how to rest what I call my DOING MACHINE.
Pause – just take a break.
Laugh –consider the whole experience being a Seinfeld episoder
Do something/anything else ..that’s not related to what you think you have to dor
Go to a movier
Take a day tripr
Take a different route to someplace OR just get lost in a neighborhood you don’t know. (Sometimes we find gems when we do that)
Visit friendsr
Volunteer at your local volunteer center – continuouslyr
Take on a hobby and take time periodically to immerse yourself in itr
Go to a museumr
Go out to coffee or for a drink with friends and acquaintances … especially one at a time. Talk about anything AND if the conversation comes up about work and what you need or are searching for, etc…. go with the flow, but keep it conversationalr
Breathe ….. deeplyr
Meditater
Go off on a quiet or spiritual or renewal retreatr
Play drums or other instruments

Do you get the point? If not, here it is loud and clear:
Often when you STOP … STOP the DOING, take a REST ….. Renew, then, you’ll be RE_ENGERGIZED, ReFLOURISHED. Things will be happening without you, around you, under the surface… you might even come back to a whole different viewpoint, new direction.
What’s important is that the resting replenishes brain power, energy and that in and of itself makes all the difference.