Email. Meetings. Tasks. Conversations. Zoom. Teams. Appointments. Commuting. Problem solving. If this sounds like your day, you are not alone.
Not that any of that is necessarily a bad thing. The problem is when it piles up on top of itself, like ice on the river in Spring break up, to the point where it feels constricting, constraining and well, overwhelming.
What's missing in days like this is some form of stillness to balance the busyness. The space between the notes, if your day was a piece of music. When music has note upon note piled up on top of one another, it turns into a cacophony. There's no space left to appreciate the notes or for them to create music.
What's missing are moments of silence or a sense of spaciousness that would give the day a very different feel.
What You Can Do to Create More Stillness
1. First, Value Stillness. We live in an extremely abundant, noisy, and dopamine-rich world. Our 'survival brain' is beautifully wired to pay attention to this world. Stillness is the opposite of dopamine-rich. It doesn't scream for your attention, saying "look at me!" It is the quiet backdrop amidst the craziness. Yet humans have valued stillness for eternity - it gives us calm, clarity, context and perspective. Today, more than ever, we need to first value it, then we need to cultivate it.
2. Cultivate Stillness. Pause and reflect on where you personally experience moments of stillness. How can you bring more of that into your day? Into your week? Perhaps it is your early morning walk - without your earbuds in? Perhaps it is journaling before the family is up? A meditation practice? Or sitting in nature? Or fly-fishing? The important thing is that somehow, somewhere you push back against all the busyness and carve out moments of genuine stillness.
3. Micro-moments. On those days where it feels almost impossible to fit in genuine stillness, it can even be as simple as creating a 1-minute pause between meetings or Zoom calls. Break the Autopilot pattern of rushing to the next thing. Pause and breath intentionally and consciously, if just for one minute, clearing your mind from the last meeting and creating a sense of "space between the notes" in your day.
What is rare is valuable. In our world today, stillness, spaciousness and silence are rare. Give yourself the gift of creating more of these in your day and watch how it transforms your lived-experience and productivity.
“Stillness: To be steady while the world spins around you. To act without frenzy. To hear only what needs to be heard. To possess quietude – exterior and interior – on command.” ~Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key
What would be possible for you if could create more calm, clarity and perspective - even on the busiest of days? Reach out to me at scott@mindfulwisdom.ca to learn more.