People who apply themselves to a piece of work may sometimes need to take a break. Different people do this in different ways. Some go for a walk, sleep or do other activities.
Some people find it helpful to immerse themselves in something that can be a positive distraction. It can help if this is pleasurable and, in some cases, give them chance to ponder.
Imagine that you may want to follow elements of this approach in your own way. This can involve doing an activity that helps you to experience some of the following qualities.
Positive
Some people immerse themselves in activity they find to be positive. They may choose to focus on gardening, craft work, helping people or doing other things that give them positive energy.
Some people take this approach when having treatment for cancer or another illness. They aim to do something positive each day to feed their body or soul. This can increase their strength to manage the treatment.
Some people take this approach when feeling depressed about things happening in the world. They pursue an activity where they can feel in control and get positive results.
Sometimes we have lots of energy. Sometimes we need to rest in order to become revitalised. Looking at your own life, when are your prime times – the times of the day when you have most energy?
Rollo May, the psychologist, believed people could become more effective by making good use of such times. Writing in the first edition of The Ageless Spirit, he explained his own schedule for a day.
I stay in my studio each day for four hours, but the last hour and a half isn’t worth very much. It was hard for me to accept, but what can I do? All I can do is make the most of the creative time I’ve got.
Pleasurable
Some people go beyond doing an activity that is positive. They do one that is deeply pleasurable. They find that taking this approach enables them to function better in other areas of their lives.
Peter Grier, a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, described how General Colin Powell follow this approach. Here is an excerpt from the article he published in 2021.
Colin Powell – who held some of the most stressful national security posts in the U.S. government during decades of public life – used to relax by fixing up old Volvos.
He would say that unlike many geostrategic problems, a balky carburetor could be straightforward to fix.
When he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early 1990s, he kept five or six Volvos stashed in garages near his quarters in Fort Myer, Virginia. At that point he figured he had already renovated more than 30 of the boxy, reliable Scandinavian cars.
Some people do activities where they go into state of flow. This approach was described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
The person becomes so immersed in an activity that time goes away. They set goals, apply their strengths and aim to achieve success. Their sense of self disappears but, paradoxically, their self emerges stronger.
Pondering
Some people find that following a positive distraction can also give them chance to ponder. Whilst being fully engaged in the activity, they may find that it can lead to doing some slow thinking.
Carl Honore described this approach in his book In Praise Of Slow. We need fast thinking to collect the pieces of the jigsaw. Some of our eureka moments, however, come from letting our minds wander and do some slow thinking.
Different people follow the positive distraction approach in different ways. Whatever route they take, they immerse themselves in a specific activity that may be positive, pleasurable and also give them chance to ponder.
They may also find it helps them to relax, recharge their batteries and reflect. Sometimes they see things in perspective and may even make a creative breakthrough.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way? What may be the benefits of taking these steps?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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