“In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for the constructive use for solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone.”
– Rollo May
Most of us are terrified of silence. We avoid it often and we avoid it well. But the irony is that quiet minds make noise – they shake up the status quo – they see something no one else has noticed – they sense what isn’t obvious. Out of silence emerges the next roar.
Unfortunately, silence scares most of us silly. We’re so silly, in fact, we allow the 24 / 7 chatter that is our present world to play in our heads just so we don’t have to really listen to what’s being said.
Our Mind Whirls and Races through Each Day
For most of us, our thoughts are whirling bits of detail, frantically reeling like a wild horse in a tiny stall. Take a minute, watch your mind and see for yourself!
How often do we regularly allow ourselves to enjoy silence for more than a few seconds – or maybe a few minutes if we’re living on the wild side? No wonder it feels so uncomfortable, so unfamiliar to most of us.
In the stillness that we so rarely visit, our creativity lies dormant – like a patient but loyal dog, perched by the door waiting for its master to come home and acknowledge him.
Silence is the Lifeblood of Creativity
But – as they say – talk is cheap. Is silence is really the lifeblood of creativity? We can read the words of creative individuals such as Rollo May who said “In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for the constructive use for solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone.” But is this true? Anything we believe is true is usually something we’ve experienced first-hand for ourselves.
Slip into Your Quiet Like a Comfortable Sweater
So… why not try it out? Make silence something you will personally experience on a regular basis for one month – each day carving out a set amount time only for quiet solitude. If you plan for it, if it’s a priority, it will happen. You may choose the morning – and get up a half hour before everyone else in your world gets going. You may choose midday and move yourself to a quiet space for lunch. Or – if you’re a night hawk who won’t fall asleep the minute you allow yourself to sit still – you might choose to have quiet time in the evening after others have gone to bed. Thirty days. Enough time to become at least a little familiar with it.
If you make quiet an important part of your day, instead of being afraid of silence and solitude – you will learn how to cozy up to it – value it – and eventually come to deeply understand that quiet is absolutely essential to creativity and innovation.
Originality Thrives in Seclusion
Nikola Tesla said that “the mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone – that is the secret of invention; be alone – that is when ideas are born.”
By establishing a quiet space that’s easy to get to – one that you use only for quiet, contemplative thought – your body and mind will slip into that mindset with greater and greater ease. When you go to a dinner party, your body and mind naturally prepare to be social. When you go to your quiet space, your body and mind will prepare to be still. Soon stillness will be part of your day. Then you can see if it makes a difference. Other successful people have said it will.
When you are there in your silence, you can ask yourself one simple question to contemplate during that time.
- You might consider what things are taking up mental space and time that are no longer working for you.
- You might notice what things about your normal routine disturb your sense of ease.
- You might begin to imagine something that inspires your sense of wonder.
- You might spend time reflecting on what you’ve learned.
- You might consider what you are grateful for.
- Or you might simply notice what’s around you.
Creativity is Connection
Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it; they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”
How can we connect those things Jobs was referring to while the noise all around us wafts through our heads? How can we see something that isn’t obvious if we don’t give our minds the time and quiet space to wander like a child at play?
Making time for silence is not a perk to give yourself when you’ve completed your “To Do” list – or when you finally booked that vacation your partner has been nagging you to take. It’s purposeful – and as essential as breathing to those who are able to envision something that inspires them and others in this relentlessly noisy world.
I encourage you to give yourself the gift of silence today. It might just be the best thing you could do for your career, your business and your life.