15/06/2025

ON SUNDAY JUNE 15, 2025 theSunday Special XII T HERE’S a strange guilt that creeps in when you’re not “do ing something.” Sitting at a café without your laptop open. Resting on a weekend afternoon

+P C EWNVWTG VJCV INQTKƓGU DWU[PGUU EJQQUKPI VQ TGUV RCWUG QT GXGP UVCTG KPVQ URCEG HGGNU NKMG TGDGNNKQP In praise of pause

with no errands planned. Lying in bed after lunch, just listening to the fan. For many, that stillness feels uncomfortable ± OLNH \RX VKRXOG H[SODLQ LW MXVWLI\ LW ¿OO LW We live in a world that constantly demands motion. If you’re not achieving, you’re preparing to achieve. If you’re not learning, you’re wasting time. Even relax ation has been turned into a productivity contest – yoga with goals, meditation with metrics, sleep apps tracking your REM cycles. Doing nothing? That doesn’t even make the list. But maybe it should. Because doing nothing – true, honest, deliberate nothing – might be one of the most restorative things you can offer your brain and body. Not scrolling. Not multitasking. Not planning your next move while pretending to rest. Just ... pausing. Modern science agrees. The Dutch even have a term for it: niksen . It means the art of being idle, of engaging in ac tivities with no objective. Looking out the window. Watching clouds. Sitting by a drain and letting your mind wander. It’s not mindfulness. It’s not meditation. It’s just... existing. And it’s increasingly being recommended by psychologists to reduce burnout, restore creativity and regulate your nervous system. In Malaysia, however, we’re not exactly taught to embrace idleness. From school to adulthood, structure is king. Be useful. %H Ḣ FLHQW %H EHWWHU (YHQ WKH ORFDO WHUP lepak , which technically means to hang out or relax, is often used with a hint of judgment. “He’s always lepak -ing.” As if rest is only acceptable when earned. As if pausing is a sign you’ve dropped the ball. But what if that mindset is part of the problem? Many people today aren’t tired because of a lack of activity – they’re exhausted from too much. Not just physically, but mentally. Your brain was not designed to process emails, WhatsApp group chats, 6KRSHH ÀDVK GHDOV SROLWLFDO QHZV FOLPDWH panic, TikTok trends and family obliga tions – all before breakfast. If you feel foggy or irritable for no reason, it might not be burnout in the big, dramatic sense. It might just be decision fatigue. Micro-stress. The cognitive weight of modern life.

Doing nothing might be one of the most restorative things you can offer your brain and body.

BY DR SRITHARAN VELLASAMY

Doing nothing creates a break in the circuit. It resets the system. And no, you don’t have to be on a mountaintop or in a ZHOOQHVV UHWUHDW WR EHQH¿W

produce, we fear being seen as unambi tious, unmotivated and un-serious. But worth isn’t productivity. You don’t become less valuable just because you’re resting. Sometimes, doing nothing is an act of resistance against a culture that measures your life in hustle. Sometimes, it’s an act of healing, a way to let the body recover from the invisible bruises of the day. Sometimes, it’s just a reminder: you don’t need to be “on” all the time. In Malaysia’s urban culture, where everyone seems to be chasing something – a better job, a better house, a better self – choosing stillness can feel like standing VWLOO LQ WUḊ F ZKLOH HYHU\RQH HOVH VSHHGV past. But stillness isn’t stagnation. It’s conservation. When you slow down, you notice more. You start appreciating the sound of birds outside your window. The way your body breathes when you’re not rushing. The texture of a mango. The way your thoughts soften when you stop trying to wrestle them. This doesn’t mean you abandon your goals. It just means you stop treating rest like an afterthought. You treat it like fuel. Like medicine. Like hygiene. So permit yourself. To stare at the ceiling. To lie RQ WKH ÀRRU 7R WDNH D ORQJ SXUSRVHOHVV drive. To do one thing at a time. To do nothing at all. Not forever. Not irresponsibly. But gently. Often. Regularly. You don’t need to earn rest. You are allowed to rest simply because you exist. Because you’re human. Because your body and brain were not built for non-stop performance. Let the inbox wait. Let the silence speak. You might be surprised by how much life ¿WV LQ WKH VSDFHV \RX RQFH UXVKHG WR ¿OO Dr Sritharan Vellasamy is the CEO of Wordlabs Global, a regional media company based in Kuala Lumpur and the author of the upcoming book Drag You to the Mountain .

Even the local term lepak , which technically means to hang out or relax, is often used with a hint of judgment.

The Dutch even have a term for it: niksen . It means the art of being idle, of engaging in activities with no objective.