otium

i have the tendency to keep working until i have reached the goal i have set for myself. while i think this is a great trait to have, it is also a dangerous, burnout-prone characteristic.

these days i have been feeling a little burnt out after hitting a few roadblocks with a previous healthcare venture i was working on. this is not the first time a venture has hit a major obstacle; every time this happens, i try to quickly jump to the next idea the next day as a means to keep up the momentum. in my head, this is what i need to do in order to reach my goal, and that i shouldn't take breaks until the goal has been fulfilled.

my realization: it is important to embrace a period of otium after a setback.

otium is leisure or free time, especially when devoted to reflection, learning, or the cultivation of the mind and spirit. in roman thought, otium was not mere idleness, but a valuable counterbalance to work (negotium), a period for philosophy, literature, or the arts.

counterintuitively, stopping is actually a catalyst for growth. by stepping away, i can properly reflect on the things that went wrong, what i could have done differently, and how i should change my strategy.

i feel like these counterintuitive truths tend to have high impact. by stopping, you move faster; by resting, you grow stronger; by stepping back, you see more clearly. otium is another paradox where doing "nothing" is sometimes the most productive decision.

society glorifies the hustle and nonstop busyness, but it severely undervalues the stillness that actually makes the output of our work sustainable.

this is why recently i have been dedicating time to reading essays and research papers, learning about different technologies, and writing my thoughts down. it is helpful to remind myself that these moments of reflection and learning are not detours from the path, but they are part of the path itself.