Intentional Vegging: Deliberate rest is essential, not a luxury

This past week I heard two different people say they felt like they should have "done" more over the Thanksgiving break.

Less couch potato, more Marie Kondo. 

“Vegging out” has gotten a bad rap as an excuse to be lazy and waste your time. 

But we all know that creating blank space for ourselves to decompress and recharge is critical as Visionaries. 

I started using the term “intentional vegging”.

Intentional vegging reinforces that Vision is about your definition of success, not anyone else’s

So while goal setting is usually about doing, doing, doing, Visioning gives you the opportunity to remember that NOT doing can be evidence of your success, too. 

One client talked about how clarifying her past 2 Visions has made her a better parent. How amazing is it that she relishes this unstructured time with her family and gets to model that for her kids, too – time, permission and encouragement to just BE. Permission to just BE!  Celebration of just BEING!  Success = Just BEING! Encouragement of just BEING!  

In our society it can feel like the only ‘valid’ break is one that’s packed with activities – more “doing”. 

And more pressure to feel like you “should” be getting off the couch.

But we can turn that pressure into freedom with intentionality.
How?


Meet yourself where you are.  

If that’s a day being out and about, great. But if it’s having no plans whatsoever, know that’s great too!  The intention is what matters.

Dogs really do this best. They have their favorite spots to curl up and I always wonder how they pick one spot or another during the day to plop down and curl up into a doggie doughnut or splay out with all their limbs. They gaze out the window, they nap, they play, they get water when they want. They are following their instincts.
When we follow ours, we can give ourselves permission to intentionally rest, whether that’s on a weekend, before or after work, on a holiday break or vacation, and it will be purposeful instead of guilt-inducing.


So release the pressure gauge.

And this weekend when Netflix asks you, “Are you still watching?” check in with yourself. 

If your definition of success is about curling up in your coziest pajamas and enjoying the heck out of your favorite show, hit “OK” and do it without an ounce of guilt.