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Have you ever had your own words come back to haunt you? It happens to me all the time! The worst is when there is a record of your words, i.e., a book or a blog that clearly states, in black and white, what you said yesterday versus what you are doing today.

I recently experienced this firsthand when I was working on a chapter for an upcoming academic publication and made the mistake of rereading the first chapter of The Wisdom of Walt: Sitting on a Park Bench. I challenge readers and leaders to do…nothing.

“Take a Saturday and sit. Take a Sunday to think. Take a weekend to DREAM.”

Except I suck at doing nothing. Lyndsey too.

I learned this last year when we went to Typhoon Lagoon together for the first time. It was our “off day” between the theme parks at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. A day of rest and relaxation. A day of stillness.

Our first attraction was Castaway Creek, the 2,100 foot “lazy river” that slowly circles the entire park while passing through gentle waterfalls, lush rainforests, mist screens, and the park’s signature icon, “Mount Mayday.” Thirty seconds after entering our inner tubes and beginning our float, Lyndsey May started our day with “Okay, Jeffrey, these lifeguards aren’t like regular theme park Cast Members. They’re super-serious. They must focus on making sure no one drowns. Safety first! Here’s our goal: Let’s see if we can get at least one lifeguard to smile at us.”

“Lyndsey, it’s a lazy river. The entire point is to float and relax. We don’t need to accomplish anything. Goal? The goal of a lazy river is to Do Nothing!”

How many of you struggle with doing nothing? How many of us are always striving? Always achieving? How many of us have bought into the belief that laziness is the worst curse of all? But some of life’s best moments, and our most profound ideas and inspiration, come when we allow ourselves to float in laziness. To drift and dream without direction.

Opening in 1989, Typhoon Lagoon’s legend is the story of a storm that wreaks havoc on a formerly pristine tropical paradise. The ensuing chaos strews stuff everywhere, including the shrimp boat “Miss Tilly,” left sitting atop Mount Mayday. With nearly two million guests a year, Typhoon Lagoon routinely ranks as the world’s busiest water park. Does that mean it’s the best? Not necessarily. While we love Typhoon Lagoon, Lyndsey and I prefer Volcano Bay.

Busy isn’t always best.

Today, if your calendar is nothing but continuous chaos, the best way to calm the waters is to stop and do nothing. Try it for a minute. An hour. Even a day. Like a long and winding river, life will go on. It’s okay to let some things go. It’s okay to allow yourself to go with the flow of life.

The next time you find yourself overwhelmed with the busyness of life, remember the lessons from Typhoon Lagoon and its lazy river. Take a moment to sit back, relax, and just be. Give yourself permission to drift and dream without direction. Who knows? You might just find that by doing nothing, you’re accomplishing more than you ever thought possible.

Maybe then you can smile.

P.S. Speaking of flotation therapy, Lyndsey and I will be resting and relaxing on a Disney Cruise next week. James Warda, author of the new book How Does Disney Do That?: How Disney Makes Us Feel and Why It Matters will be filling in for me. Enjoy!