Some of us believe that unless we are operating at a thousand miles a minute and doing ten things at once, we aren’t being productive.

Others of us are perfectly content sitting in stillness and not physically going anywhere. Maybe you’re not mentally going anywhere either because you are one of those people who excel at the art of being quiet, content and still.

I somewhat envy the latter group because I identify very strongly with the first-mentioned set of characteristics.

I've been told that you're only a writer on the days that you write so if you want to be a writer, you have to write every day. Same goes for being an artist or a chef, or whatever the act is. In other words, if you want your identity to be in being a writer or an artist, you must pursue that each day in order to be called such.

Therefore, on the days I don't write or I'm on a break and not doing schoolwork, I feel like neither a writer or a student and I get frustrated with this state of stillness.

Of course, all of this is in my control and I could easily pick up a book to read, download an app and learn a new language or take a pen to paper and begin to write in order to feel purposeful again but I haven't.

I haven't because I decided there was something I needed to learn about myself through this frustration that I've been feeling.

I've learned that for better or for worse, I find my purpose in whatever it is that I am actively pursuing. When life slows down and I’m not under some sort of stress or pressure, I begin to lack my feeling of purpose and productivity.

I’m one of those crazy people who admittedly craves a little bit of chaos and commitment. It’s something I’ve worked on over the years and I can confidently say I’m no longer the over-committer who could never say "no."

“No” actually became one of my favorite words during 2017. There is so much power behind such a little word and this power helped me to see that by saying “no” I gain more time and energy to spend on myself so that I can, in turn, take care of others.

Self-love is not selfish.

Saying “no” is not the same thing as letting someone down. We only let ourselves down each time we say “yes” to commitments that we are really longing to say “no” to.

Essentially, we can’t fill a glass with an empty pitcher. Same goes for human interactions too: I can’t pour my energy and time into someone or something when I have no energy and time saved up to begin with.

We can’t give someone something we don’t have.

In order to recharge my batteries and ground myself and my energy, I have to say “no” to things that sometimes I really want to do. We are not machines and we can't be in more than one place at once. We don't have these traits for good reasons too.

Being able to be present in a moment and actively feel whatever it is that we are feeling at any given time is an incredibly beautiful and human thing.

We have to say “yes” to stillness and lean into the discomfort of being idle because being idle and resting in stillness is actually immeasurably productive and beneficial to our minds and bodies.

Stillness is psychologically imperative for us all. What we call doing “nothing” is actually doing a lot of "something" for our physiological needs.

We were not designed to function at a high capacity at all hours of the day. There’s a reason we sleep better when it’s dark out and why nighttime is a naturally occurring state. It’s a time for rest and for unconscious tasks to be completed while information is integrated or processed into our minds.

When we rest, we are cultivating balance within ourselves.

While I don’t necessarily believe in aggressive new year’s resolutions, I do believe in setting attainable, long-lasting and sustaining goals.

The problem I see with new year’s resolutions is that they burn out too quickly when not properly designed.

For me, I want to create more time for stillness which will in turn hopefully help prevent burn out and a feeling of over-exertion from taking too much on.

We don't need a new year or a new day to take action on goals such as this one. All we need is a new moment where we can lean into a sense of stillness and remind ourselves why staying grounded is an important way of showing self-love and care.

Next time you're feeling idle, unproductive or inactive, remember that intentionally going nowhere can often take us further than when we unintentionally going anywhere.