In a society that constantly demands more—more productivity, more social media, more work, and more of everything—it is easy to lose sight of the value of taking time off. It is easy to forget that we require moments of escape. But the fact is, we all need those small moments of indulgence, the moments where we drop the responsibility and allow ourselves to enjoy something that we love—our guilty pleasures.
It can be binging a guilty pleasure TV show, playing a favorite old video game, or indulging in binge-watching the newest drama show; these moments of escape are much more than distractions. They are also important to your mental health. So, let’s discuss how indulging in these “guilty pleasure” moments is crucial to your overall well-being.
A Break From The Daily Grind
Regardless of how successful you are, how many projects you have going, or how many meetings you’ve got on the books, everybody needs a break. And that’s where guilty pleasures come in. There’s something calming about flipping on that show that everybody else is eye-rolling over. Or picking up a game you know isn’t particularly productive but is exactly what you need.
It’s not laziness or procrastination; it’s letting your mind reboot. If you’re pushing yourself every single day, using your mind nonstop, and generating, your mind needs to get a break and recover. Spending a few minutes playing solitaire may be just what you need to interrupt the cognitive chaos. It’s not about working harder. It’s about stepping back and allowing yourself to be unproductive for a bit.
Reducing Stress And Anxiety
Life gets overwhelming sometimes. You can’t always dictate the deadlines at work, the family obligations, or the other unexpected stresses that arise. But you can dictate how you react. When the pressure is on, one of the best things you can do is temporarily escape into something mindless and enjoyable. Taking a few minutes to mindlessly browse through your favorite show on Netflix or to get lost in a game can be a fine way to reduce stress and tension. This holds especially true if you decide to engage in activities that allow you to mentally disconnect from your concerns. Some of the repetitive aspects of guilty pleasures—watching a show you never need to concentrate on or playing a game that doesn’t matter—are the kinds of activities that allow you to relax without concerning yourself with anything else.
Regaining Your Personal Connection
In the midst of the chaos of life, we forget to reconnect to what we really love. We get too caught up in people’s demands—family, job, social, etc.—and forget what we need to do for ourselves. Guilty pleasures return to us the small delights that make life enjoyable again. It’s the sense of snuggling up with your favorite snack, putting on a feel-good movie, or spending me-time playing your favorite video game for one whole hour.
This is reconnecting back to what makes you, you. In a world that’s always urging you to be someone else, to be doing something else, or to keep up with everyone else’s expectations, a little guilty pleasure is the prescription. It’s you telling yourself that it’s okay to do something purely for the sole reason that it makes you happy, even if it’s not the most productive or the most significant thing in the world. It’s reclaiming your individuality and enjoying the simple, day-to-day moments.
The Power of Mindless Entertainment
There are times when we just need something mindless to tune in to. We’ve all had one of those days where we really don’t feel like doing anything too mentally taxing. Perhaps you don’t feel like reading a self-improvement book or learning a new activity. Perhaps all you need is a show that doesn’t make you think too much, which allows you to tune out for a bit.
It’s here that guilty pleasures get their magic. They require nothing of you. No analyzing a plot, solving a problem, or fulfilling any expectation. Just let yourself let go, and that is when the value is.
Finding Time For Yourself
Guilty pleasures also allow you to find the most essential of all: me-time. If you are juggling several roles and responsibilities, it is easy to forget that you, too, need to give yourselves a break and enjoy the indulgence. It is okay to press pause. Indulging in guilty pleasures is easy, and it is easy to give yourself permission to allow you to breathe.
It may sound selfish or indulgent, but spending time indulging in a guilty pleasure is spending time taking care of yourself. It’s simple to find yourself caught up in the idea that every moment must be spent doing something more productive or purposeful. But nothing always needs a purpose. Sometimes, the purpose is simply to unwind, to restart, and to give yourself permission to rejuvenate in order to approach the remainder of your life with a clear mind.
Breaking Free From Guilt
Let’s deal with the elephant in the room: guilt. Others believe that engaging in guilty pleasures is something that we should feel guilty about. We believe if we are not doing something productive or if we are not devoting every moment of our waking lives to working towards something, we are somehow squandering time. But that type of attitude causes damage rather than benefit.
Breaking free from the shame and guilt associated with indulging in rest and pleasure is important. To your surprise, those “wasted minutes” may actually make you perform better for the rest of your life. Spending a few moments doing something pleasurable or easy, like playing a game of cards or watching a campy TV show, can charge your batteries and make you a better functioning overall person.
Encouraging Creativity And Imagination
Here’s something that may come as a surprise: Occasionally, engaging in mindless entertainment can actually stimulate your creativity. That’s correct! When you are relaxing rather than working on solving hard problems or making deadlines, your mind is able to daydream. What happens may be that the solutions to your issues or new creative thoughts for a creative endeavor come to you when you are relaxing, watching a favorite television show, or playing a favorite game.
This is due to the fact that your mind needs relaxation in order to recharge and be creative. Stepping away from the demands of your tasks is giving your mind a break and letting it reboot, which leads to making you a better worker in the end.
Building a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance: it’s all the buzz these days, yet how many of us actually know how to make it happen? When the need to always be available and productive starts to creep in, it’s easy to fall victim to the cycle of overworking. One of the best methods of gaining that balance, though, is by carving out time for guilty indulgences. By indulging in those relaxing moments, you’re providing yourself the ability to break away from the job and concentrate on what really is important: your state of mind and happiness.
Whether you’re spending it watching a goofy reality TV show, playing video games, or vegging out in front of the TV with a snack, those activities are essential to keeping your mental and emotional health in check.
Getting To The Point
Taking pleasure in your guilty indulgences isn’t escaping life forever; it’s taking a healthy escape. These tiny indulgences are how you pause, reboot your mind, and then return to life refreshed, full of vigor, creativity, and happiness. Go for it—hit that button on that TV show, grab that novel, or challenge yourself in a few rounds of solitaire. Treat yourself.
