Niksen: The Dutch Art of ‘Doing Nothing Much’
Niksen is the Dutch concept of ‘doing nothing’. This is a very interesting concept, because we learn that Dutch children (the happiest in the world) don’t do homework!
They also are pretty much given their own freedom, with parents not thinking there’s a child attacker on every street. Families don’t use smartphones or tablets when in a room together, there’s a lot we can learn from them.
So many people these days exhaust themselves, by doing something. Obviously doing something is good when you should be doing something (paramedics and even growing vegetables). But don’t do something, when you should be doing nothing!
This way of living is an antidote to the modern world, filled with what the late anarchist lecturer called Bullshit Jobs (a book for anyone whose heart sinks at the sight of a whiteboard, or believes that ‘workshops’ should only be for making things). You know these type of jobs – ones that endure simply because they help powerful people – lobbyists, telemarketers, bailiffs etc.
The phenomenon of burnout has given rise to a multimillion-dollar industry of self-help to counter its negative effects. Self-help tips (however well-intentioned) are useless. You wouldn’t tell a soldier suffering from PTSD to eat more healthily or a single mother in a poor neighbourhood to find a hobby.
We are all different, living different lives, and we have different responses to stressful problems. There is no ready-made solution. That’s why we’re drowning in self-help books. Maartje Willems
