Just coping, getting ahead of yourself; it’s very human. We busy bees! Taking on more than we can handle. Biting off more than you can chew. Sitting down and relax is for the lazy people, you cannot allow yourself to do that. There is still so much work to be done! No break for me! Laziness is unacceptable. Lounging is not for me!

Do you feel that you always have to be doing something useful?

Always busy? Sit down, no time for it! And if you finally sit down for just a minute, you get up again after 2 minutes. No rest in your body. It creates a hectic life with the conviction that it’s good that you are doing so much work. Golly gee, I sure did a lot today and then you fall totally exhausted in bed. On the way to the next over-filled day.

On your way to a burnout?

If you can’t manage to get yourself out of this circus, you keep on going until you are completely exhausted and have created a burnout. You wait until you have an alibi to be able to rest. I lived like this for decades. When I developed the MIR-Method, I was deeply tired. I couldn’t go on. But relax? No way. Just kept going on. I developed a persistent, stubborn cough. It stayed until I developed pneumonia. When our family physician told me that I really needed to take antibiotics and I got the prescription, a big weight fell off of me. I came home, waved the prescription and said, almost cheerfully: “I’ve got pneumonia!” and went to bed. For six entire weeks. And I loved all that peace and quiet! Later, I realized that I had created this situation myself and I saw how much I had depended on my husband all that time. And how this wouldn’t have been necessary if I had just enjoyed being “idle”, my laziness, in time.

Is it bad to be lazy or to relax?

Laziness is nothing other than rest. Taking a moment for yourself. Taking time to relax. Being still in order to receive new inspiration. What do you think women do while doing handicrafts? They are gathering their energy to regroup themselves again. What do people do while reading a book? They are totally inspired and feeding their energy. And what do you do when you sit on the sofa and stare? You’re taking good care of yourself. You are organizing your thoughts, keeping the outside world outside. You let your body rest and while doing so, your senses as well! Your eyes, your ears and your voice rest. This isn’t laziness; this is refueling, finding yourself, keeping yourself healthy!

What is it with “lazy” people?

I don’t believe people are lazy. In my opinion, they don’t exist. I know people who are not active. Who sit on the sofa a lot, don’t take any steps in their lives, and use their time doing things that don’t bring them any further: watching TV, playing endless pointless video games, but I don’t see that as laziness. These people have forgotten how worthwhile they are and have therefore forgotten their mission in life.

What happens to your hectic life when you do the MIR-Method?

For people who can’t seem to get off the merry-go-round, the MIR-Method slowly but surely gives them the signal to slow down. Usually you feel more tiredness during the first weeks. Just as long as it takes for you to realize that you need some rest and relax.

One of the steps that helps you with this is step 3: “Detach father. Detach mother”. What example did your parents give you? Were they hard workers who never sat still? Did they give you something to do just when you had opened a book? And what did they say to you? Did they say anything to you when you were relaxing? Most parents had to work hard for daily survival, providing for a family. Their example influenced you. By doing step 3, you detach yourself from your parents’ influence. You become more respectful of what you need and accept that it is necessary to take breaks. Slowly but surely inner peace is freed up. And if that means staring out a window, drawing a picture with your toddler, or crouching next to a ladybird, then be it so.

And, what about you? Are you relaxing more? In what way? Please tell me about it below! Thank you!

My wish for you is that you lead a nice active life, alternated with wonderful breaks and relaxing moments!
Hearty greetings,
Mireille Mettes

P.S. Will you help spread the MIR-Method? You would do me a big favor by forwarding this article to other people! Feel free to post it to your Facebook page or send it via e-mail, Twitter or Linked-In! Use the icons on the left-hand side or below! Thank you!

P.S. Not familiar with the MIR-Method yet? Please go to the homepage. You can watch the video there and also the instruction video. Sign up for our newsletter and 6 weeks of coaching e-mails for extra support!