From endless work hours to school to day-to-day tasks, we are taught as a culture that we always need to be doing something and pushing towards the future. Imagine sitting in a room for 15 minutes and being told to just sit with your thoughts. No phones, no commitments — just you and your thoughts. Could you do it? Could you do it for even 10 minutes?

Our brains need time to be still. Our brains need to experience the times of “nothingness” to refuel and recharge. Creativity is discovered in these times of stillness.

When we take a step back from our day-to-day tasks, we are allowing our brains to focus on more innovative and creative ideas. We are taught to put our energy into our work, which is not a bad thing. However, we should be careful to maintain a healthy balance.

We need to take the time to do absolutely nothing — find your own medium of relaxation. When you channel into the mindset of relaxation, time slows down and you are able to enjoy more and more of the little joys in life.

When we overwork ourselves, we can lose our true identities and struggle with actually living our lives. Life is about much more than our work. Life is about the sunsets, the cuddles from your pets, the food you eat and the music you hear. Why are we as a culture so opposed to being alone from time to time? It is healthy to be alone and recharge.

Within our busy world, it seems as if we are to assume that being inactive for certain periods of time is a form of failure. Why is that? Is it our culture? Is it how an individual is raised? Or is it the endless pressure to get a good paying job to provide for a certain lifestyle? We seem to be conditioned to feel a sense of guilt when we are not being productive. However, that is not how the human brain works. The brain needs moments of stillness.

Within the walls of societal norms, we lose our feelings of comfort when we are alone. We are told from a young age that a main purpose of life is to find a partner to share it with -- which is in no way a bad thing. However, this has caused a taboo around the idea of being alone. From the loads of information at our fingertips, it is impossible to not stay in touch with those around you. Stillness seems to be a daily fight because of the technology we have in our possession -- never truly being alone.

We seem to prefer distractions as opposed to the moments of stillness. If we try to invite the silence and stillness in, it can be an open door to self-discovery and creativity.

Therefore, make it a goal this week to take a break from the busy, and indulge in moments of stillness. The truth is — we all need more of it.