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A young crocodile once asked an old crocodile how he became the most ferocious hunter in the river. The old man did not answer, but only continued to doze in the water. The young man decided to show him what he was capable of: all day he rushed around the pond, caught two fish and a small crane. With trophies, he proudly went to the old man.
He still hadn’t moved, but now a large antelope was standing in the water just a few inches away. In the next second, he rose from the water like lightning, his jaws closing around the animal’s neck. “How did you do this?” the young crocodile asked admiringly. “I was inactive,” the old man answered him.
Usually we behave like a young crocodile: we think that in order to get results, it is necessary to do something.
It seems to us that in order to achieve success, you need to constantly work, build, invent something new. But employment and success are not the same thing.
Entrepreneur and blogger Aytekin Tank told why sometimes you need to do nothing and how to make it a habit.
Now the very idea of idleness seems wild to us. We rate people by how many hours they work and how busy they are. Employment has become a symbol of status and success. But sooner or later, we all wonder what is our goal: to be as busy as possible or to contribute as much as possible to our cause? Therefore, many entrepreneurs and scientists regularly set aside time for doing nothing.
When Bill Gates headed Microsoft, twice a year he took a week to think. It was not a vacation, but rather a time to think, read and take a break from doing business. Gates took his weeks of reflection so seriously that during this time he did not see his family, friends, or employees.
Gates says much of Microsoft’s success is based on ideas he came up with while he was inactive.
You don’t have to cut yourself off from family and friends for a week. And few people have the opportunity to do nothing for a whole week. Try a simpler approach: ditch all electronic devices and technology over the weekend. Turn off your phone and laptop and put them in a closet. And try your best not to watch TV.
Give yourself the opportunity to forget about the daily hustle and bustle, come up with new ideas or remember old ones. Perhaps the success of such an exercise will be as good as that of an old crocodile who has caught an antelope.