It’s a daily dose of healthy dissociation.
Even when you think you’re doing nothing, you’re surely still doing something. Even during so-called downtime, most people are taking part in leisure activities such as reading, knitting or watching TV.
But folks from the Netherlands are adept at doing even less.
The Dutch concept of “niksen” translates to, literally, “to do nothing.” The verb comes from the word “niks,” which means “nothing.”
This isn’t the time for hobbies, mindfulness or even meditation. Rather, niksen promotes simply existing. Like a waking state of sleep mode.
Similar to the viral “rawdogging” trend — where people forego all forms of entertainment on flights and other passenger commutes in favor of sitting quietly and staring into space — niksen is all about getting comfortable with zoning out in silence.
“Niksen implies the absence of structure, purpose, or outcome,” Angela Williams, LCSW, a psychotherapist and mindset coach, told Bustle.
While it may seem boring to do nothing but sit in silence, Williams shared that there’s plenty of benefits to the Dutch deed.
“Imagine learning a new concept but having no time to sit with it, to understand it, or to learn how to apply it in your own life,” she added. “Daily niksen can help you reintegrate the thoughts, lessons and emotions from the day.”
Meanwhile, Olga Mecking, the author of “Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing,” describes the act as “letting go of the outcome.”
“We always have in mind some kind of outcome. When we prepare meals, we think, ‘This meal will help me lose weight or will make me healthier.’ If we go for a walk, it has to be part of our 10,000 steps. So we lose that fun of just eating or just walking. So it’s about letting go of the outcome,” she previously explained to The Guardian.
“It wasn’t easy to find a definition,” she added. “I found any strict definition would make people feel guilty. So many people tell me they feel guilty because they can’t succeed in doing nothing.”
When you’re used to being on-the-go on a regular basis, it can be hard to simply do nothing.
Williams recommended getting into the practice slowly by starting with some quiet time in the morning to just sit and think, or drink coffee while looking out the window.
Think “simply sitting in a chair or looking out of the window,” Ruut Veenhoven, a sociologist and professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, who studies happiness, previously told Time.
Williams added that participating in niksen can allow you to “tap into more clarity” and feel more focused, creative and less stressed in the end.
“Even when we ‘niks,’ our brain is still processing information and can use the available processing power to solve pending problems,” Veenhooven explained, can ultimately boost one’s creativity.
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