The Art of Doing Nothing (When Everything Tells You to Prove Something)

Lately, I’ve been sitting with an uncomfortable feeling. I sense that if I’m not posting, announcing, or promoting, then I must not be working.

It’s subtle, but persistent.

Even when I know I’m creating.
Even when I’m building things quietly.
Even when my energy is clearly moving inward instead of outward.

There’s a voice that says:
You should show something.
You should prove you’re being productive.

But I’m realizing how deeply conditioned that voice is.

At home, no one questions whether you’re “doing enough” when you’re clearing a room. The same applies when you’re doing laundry or organizing what’s already there. Those things don’t earn applause — but life doesn’t work without them.

Business is the same.

There are seasons for visibility.
And there are seasons for infrastructure.

Right now, I’m not in a selling phase.
I’m in a back-of-house phase.

I’m working on foundations — forms, pages, structure, clarity.
Things that won’t be seen instantly, but will make everything else easier to live inside later.

And still… the urge to do something visible shows up.

So instead of outrunning that feeling, I’m practicing sitting with it.
Sitting. Sitting. Sitting.

Letting the anxiety rise and fall without giving it a task.

I keep thinking about a line from Eat Pray Love — “the art of doing nothing.”
Not as laziness.
But as permission.

Permission to let being count.
Permission to let internal work be real work.
Permission to trust that not every season needs proof.

I’m still creating.
I’m just not performing it.

And maybe that’s the art of it — learning when to go public, and when to go inward.
Learning that some work strengthens the walls, not the spotlight.

Not everything meaningful is meant to be observed.
Some things are meant to make life — and work — easier to live inside.

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Reflection Prompt:
Where in your life are you doing important work that doesn’t need an audience?

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By Tonia Tyler | #ConfidentStrides | Sweet N Social