Would Sisyphus have been happier just sitting in a jail cell, twiddling his thumbs? After all, the punishment Zeus meted out to the miscreant king was nothing more than make-work: rolling that boulder up the hill again and again and again, without purpose or sense of accomplishment. It couldn't have been very satisfying. What if Zeus had softened, and granted him a reprieve--and eternal idleness?
An interesting new study suggests that the mythical prisoner would not have liked it in the least. Indeed he would have longed for his days of rock pushing. Make-work may be pointless and demeaning, but at least it's work; it's an activity. And people prefer activity--even when they're forced into it--to sitting around with nothing to do.
That's the conclusion of University of Chicago psychologist Christopher Hsee, who has been exploring idleness in the laboratory. In one experiment, for example, he had volunteers complete part one of a two-part task. They had to wait a short time before beginning part two, and Hsee gave them two options: They could drop off their work nearby and then wait, or they could drop it at a distant location that required a short stroll. They would receive a piece of milk chocolate, regardless of which option they chose.
Most people chose to stay put. They really had no incentive to walk, so they sat and waited. But here's the interesting part: If Hsee offered different incentives--a milk chocolate nearby and a dark chocolate if they strolled, for instance--most of the volunteers took a walk. Which chocolate was where didn't matter; they switched them around. He was simply offering them the flimsiest of reasons to opt for activity over idleness--and they grabbed at it. What's more, those who strolled during the down time reported being much happier afterward than those who sat around.
This is paradoxical. People choose idleness if activity seems pointless, yet they're less happy when they do sit around. And it's not that people don't know this in advance. They do anticipate that being active will be more satisfying, but they apparently are swayed by wanting to make a reasoned choice--not an emotional one. They would feel foolish if they walked without a purpose.
Hsee ran another version of this experiment, but this time he eliminated choice. That is, some volunteers were ordered to walk to the faraway location and back, while others were told to sit and wait. The results? As the journal Psychological Science reported online this week, those who walked--even though they were forced to do so--were happier than those who sat waiting.
So people don't always choose what's best for them. No shock there. But why the mixed feelings about activity and idleness? Hsee believes they are rooted in human evolution. Idleness made a great deal of sense for our ancient ancestors, because conserving energy was crucial to survival. We no longer have the same survival demands, so we're left with a lot of excess energy--which we like to spend by staying busy. Yet that idleness bias still lingers way down deep in our neurons.
Idleness is not always a bad thing. And being busy isn't always productive, and indeed can be unsavory, even criminal. Remember that Sisyphus was a real bad apple--scheming, deceitful, murderous. We wouldn't want him hanging around with lots of time on his hands. That's what Zeus concluded--and he found something to keep him occupied.
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In other words the questions arise: Why get up in the morning? Why go to work? Why do anything?
Using the metaphor of Sisyphus is a very good example, one that Camus tapped for his philosophical work ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ which asks the same question, essentially–"If life is absurd, then why continue at all–why not just commit suicide? Well, there are lots of reasons and none of them rational, because Life itself isn't rational and yet it's perfect just the way it is.
However, I’m not buying the ‘extra energy’ theory. Not only does it not make sense, but it’s a little too convenient to reduce all human behavior to the hunter/gatherer paradigm (for lack of a better word).
On the other hand, can one really be idle if all the senses are active! Procrastination is really the bigger and more challenging issue.
Sounds like a f***ed up argument for slavery to me.
No, really, its good for em. See, they like it. Makes em happy.
Who wouldn't rather spend 18 hour days doing labor when they could be reflecting upon idleness? ; )
If you weren't already doing this, would you start doing it now? In other words, is it still worth doing?
The best life is lived by those who take the best care to make themselves as good as possible, and the pleasantest life by those who are most conscious that they are becoming better. - Xenophon
justonequestionaday.com
Look at me, I'm self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
- Bachman Turner Overdrive (aka BTO)
For instance, if I ride on the eliptical trainer for 30 minutes, it'll make me stronger, and I'll feel a faint sense of accomplishment, but if I work in the yard for 30 minutes, I actually have something to show for it - a pretty yard - as well as being stronger.
Hey, at least you posted.
Do what you like. If you can't figure out what you like, figure out what to do that is useful, and do that.
Either way is better than doing something that you detest and serves no useful purpose.