Even though No-Brainer Day has been celebrated on February 27 every year since 1996, some people are still unaware that it exists.

Most people normally display disbelief when they first hear about this holiday -  “Is there really such a holiday?” 

As we’ll discover below, there is. And it’s something you might want to look into, given its benefits. As the name suggests, the activities performed during this day should be a no-brainer - think of unwinding, not placing importance on things, and not overanalyzing. As we dig deep, we discover that a day when doing nothing becomes rewarding - a breath of fresh air we all need at least once a year.

The History of No-Brainer Day

The first mention of this concept was in 1959 in a cartoon called The Berrys.

No-Brainer Day was created by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith to encourage people to simplify their lives as much as possible, at least for a day. Adrienne started creating holidays about thirty years ago as a result of a traumatic event. After a robber smashed her face with brass knuckles, inventing new holidays seemed like the perfect way to forget about what happened and add more joy to her life. This event changed the course of her life and made her reflect on the meaning of life. She realized that all existing holidays were dull, and she used her creativity to come up with funnier ones. She created more than 1900 holidays, and here are some of them: Pay A Compliment Day (February 6), Lost Penny Day (February 12), Ant Appreciation Month (August), and International Skeptics Day (October 13).

She now calls herself an eventologist and prefers the term ‘holidates’ instead of holidays. However, it wasn’t until 1996 that this holiday was first celebrated. 

The Concept Behind No-Brainer Day

You don’t have to wait for the traditional holidays to relax and have fun. According to Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith, these types of holidays are overrated.

Plus, life itself is a celebration, so people need to be reminded to relax and let their hair down. 

Every day, we have to make thousands of micro decisions. From what to have for breakfast to what to wear to work, we all struggle with decision-making. Every choice is charged with expectations. We fear not rising to the occasion and making a poor decision when faced with a choice. It usually happens when the stakes are high. We want to ensure we dedicate enough time to analyze the subject from A to Z.

And that’s because of the emotions that surge after making a good or bad decision. If everything signals that we were right in trusting our gut, everything is sunshine and roses. Because making the right choice increases our sense of self-worth. But suppose things don’t go as expected and our decision is wrong. In that case, we start questioning ourselves and our capacity to address a problem. 

When facing too many choices and dealing with the fear of not picking the right one, we risk experiencing decision paralysis. Decision paralysis results from being overwhelmed with information, paralyzing your ability to reach a conclusion. It surges when we drown in the sea of information because we can’t decide anything. We often end up picking an alternative to the decisions we face, or worse, we step back and do not decide at all. Decision paralysis is a silent enemy, and in time, it leads to procrastination.

Decision paralysis can be influenced not only by the fear of failure. Indecisiveness can install early on due to negative decision-making patterns we notice in our parents. As children, many parents try to protect us and make decisions on our behalf without realizing how detrimental this can be to us in our adult life. We’re always left looking for someone better, an authority, that can make decisions instead of us.

Our brains need to be given a break. On a daily basis, we’re always making decisions at a smaller or higher level. This causes our brains to overthink, and if this pattern becomes a habit, it will overburden us, and affect our capacity to sift through the many factors that influence our decision-making.

Why You Need to Stop Overthinking

Overthinking refers to thinking about something in excess. Below, we’ll find out why overthinking is the fastest route to burnout. 

When we interpret things, we often operate on a cognitive bias. This means we’re inclined to think a certain way. Our brains will always try to simplify information overload as much as possible. And you will assume that information is objective when in reality, it’s subjective and based on many past decision-making factors. This means that when we overthink, we don’t even think about what we should do. We subjectively tackle a matter, thinking that we’re being objective.

The people who most struggle with overthinking are the people pleasers and the perfectionists. People pleasers fear what others might think, putting a lot of pressure on how they act to avoid disappointing others. They can go to extremes to please others, forgetting that the most important person in their lives is themselves. And this has much to do with the amount of love they think they deserve. Practicing self-love is the ultimate cure for people-pleasers.

Perfectionists see the world through an unrealistic lens. There’s no middle ground involved when it comes to perfectionism. The perfectionist sees reality as either bad or good. As a result, they will try to avoid what they perceive as wrong and create their own definition of good. Only everything has to be far from good. It needs to be flawless. This leads to a self-destructive pattern that increases self-criticism. Recovery is possible for perfectionists, and the first step toward that is rewarding themselves for all their positive results.

Even if you’re not a perfectionist or a people pleaser, you may risk falling into the overthinking trap. This happens because we place too much importance on what people think of us. Overthinking can negatively influence the way we perceive others and the world, and it may distort reality. Overthinking also robs you of the possibility of living in the present moment because it constantly catapults you to the past or future. It’s like living another life in your head and devoting yourself to it only partially. This explains why Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith was so passionate about giving our brains a break. While overthinking may seem like a good idea at the beginning, in time, it will only add negativity to our lives.

How to Celebrate No-Brainer Day

The phrase no-brainer refers to decisions that require the bare minimum of thought and effort. Relaxation is key when it comes to celebrating this day properly. Below, we’ll find the best activities to unwind.

Laughter

There’s a reason why laughter is believed to be the best medicine. Laughter is responsible for filling our body with positivity. It promotes the release of neurotransmitters that influence our mood. Laughter also helps reduce the body’s cortisol levels, translating to less stress. It also diminishes anxiety and allows us to feel more relaxed.

Seeking laughter-inducing activities such as watching a funny video, a comedy, or telling jokes, can immediately change how you feel. Humor should be an integral part of our lives.

Positive Music

Many people listen to music that triggers painful memories from the past. In this case, music makes you relive an unpleasant situation over and over. But if you stay away from songs that ruin your mood and instead listen to uplifting music, you set yourself up to win. You become more hopeful, more relaxed, and more present. Even your blood flows more smoothly when you listen to words that create a positive response in your body.

Meditate

Meditation helps us tap into mental stillness. A much-needed activity if you think of how busy our brains are all the time. When you meditate, your heart rate slows, and you tune in with your breath. Focusing on the breath helps you keep the typical mental chatter at bay. You welcome peace, silence, calm, and harmony in your inner being. Meditation also enables you to see life through a positive lens and feel grateful for everything in your life, no matter how big or small. 

Do nothing

It may sound counterintuitive, but doing nothing is precisely the missing ingredient in our lives. We focus on being busy because it’s a sign of productivity. Or worse, we mindlessly scroll through social media because we procrastinate doing the day's most important tasks. But recharging our batteries is a great way to help our brains to press pause and not think of anything. Deciding to do nothing allows the brain to relax without dealing with guilt. Rest is one of the best ways to become more productive and make smarter decisions.

Taking Relaxation to the Next-Level

No-Brainer Day is undoubtedly an intriguing holiday. Some people have so much trouble relaxing that the only way they know how to live is by being in constant stress. To many, stressful means productive. But this is far from the truth. There’s a reason why No-Brainer day was invented and why it still exists almost three decades later. We need to make relaxation a no-brainer, which will help us make better decisions, increasing our sense of self-worth.

I’ve designed a hypnotic audio for people who struggle to relax. There’s so much value in learning to relax and let your hair down. It will help you prioritize your overall well-being and keep your mood high.

How will you celebrate this holiday?

I’ve made it my life’s mission to make peace of mind and the ability to reach your potential available to everyone
- and that includes you!

Here’s to true freedom, happiness and health! - Jamie Clarke