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The other night I turned on the tv to watch Jeopardy! and I couldn’t believe how loud the commercials were. It wasn’t the volume of the commercials, but the intensity of the message and how much information was being crammed into 15 seconds. What was once normal simply became noise in one defining moment.
Whether it’s the commercials on tv, the opinions on social media, the news, our thoughts, relationships, feelings, emotions, prayers, conversations, dreams and fears, we can get lost in the cacophony.
I know I’ve been adrift. Earlier this week, I couldn’t hear myself think. I didn’t know how I was feeling other than the tight grip of anxiety. I need to get quiet.
As we all shift, adapt, and evolve to face the external challenges, inevitably we will find ourselves dealing with internal struggles as well. And in this time, we are going to need the power of silence to counter-balance the growing presence, volume, and intensity of noise.
Quotes mentioned in this episode:
From Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott:
“Silence makes us nervous. So do innovation, change, and genius” (p. 279).
“…there are insights and emotions that can find you in no other way than through and within silence” (p. 283).
“…it is in the rests between notes that music is savored. It is in the silence trembling at the end of a gorgeous musical phrase that our hearts swell. It is in that moment that we believe all things are possible, that we can be good, that perhaps we can make contributions to mankind” (p. 285).
“It is teaching us how to feel. How to think further. Silence encourages us to explore a more difficult peace” (p. 291).
“Silence is where what is real can be detected” (p. 293).
Four ways to choose silence:
- Pick a time in your day when you will choose silence and follow through. Build the habit.
- Start small.
- Combine silence with another activity such as writing in a journal, meditating, praying, or staring outside.
- Don’t beat yourself up if you the noise wins. Just keep trying.
Show Links
- Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott
- Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash
- Support Getting Work To Work on ChrisMartinStudios.shop!
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