SILENCE!?
As I’ve gotten older, I feel like I’ve become obsessed with efficiency.
How much can I accomplish?
How many things can I stack together?
Audiobooks while I work out. Podcasts while I drive. Time blocking. Habit stacking. Multitasking. Trying to squeeze as much as possible out of every hour.
And, if I’m being honest, sometimes the more I accomplish, the better I feel about myself.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with being productive. Discipline, structure and intentionality are all things I value.
But somewhere along the way, I think I started forgetting about the value of something that feels incredibly unproductive:
Silence.
A few weeks ago, I was going through my normal morning workout routine. Like most mornings, I had my headphones in and was listening to an audiobook.
About 15 minutes into my workout, the book ended.
Normally, I already have the next one queued up and ready to go. But I recently switched audiobook apps and apparently haven’t figured out my system quite yet.
I could have stopped what I was doing, searched for another book, downloaded it and gotten right back to “being productive.”
Instead, I just kept working out.
Headphones still in.
Nothing playing.
Complete silence.
At first, it felt a little strange.
Then something happened.
I started thinking.
Really thinking.
I found myself wrestling with situations that had happened over the previous few days and weeks. I thought through challenges at work. Some things happening in our business. My eating habits. Parenting. Conversations I needed to have.
And without anything else filling the space, my mind started working through some of those things.
New ideas came to me.
Different perspectives.
Potential solutions.
Questions I hadn’t stopped long enough to ask myself.
Completely by accident, I had put myself in a situation where I was forced to be quiet.
No audiobook.
No podcast.
No music.
No outside voices telling me what to think next.
Just me and my thoughts.
And I was reminded how important that can be.
I don’t know why that morning happened exactly the way it did, but I’m grateful for the nudge.
A reminder that sometimes we don’t need more information.
We don’t need another podcast.
Another book.
Another meeting.
Another productivity hack.
Sometimes we simply need enough silence to hear what might already be going on inside of us.
I’d love to tell you that after that morning I immediately blocked an hour every Tuesday for deep reflection and silence.
I didn’t.
And, honestly, if I did, I’d probably find some way to make silence another box to check off my productivity list. 🙂
Instead, I’ve started doing something much simpler.
Every once in a while, I drive home from work in complete silence.
No podcast.
No phone call.
No music.
Just a few minutes to think, reflect, pray and process before walking into the beautiful chaos of practices, homework, dinner and everything else that comes with family life.
It isn’t complicated.
It isn’t very efficient.
And maybe that’s exactly the point.
My challenge for you this month is simple: Find some silence.
Maybe it’s ten minutes in the car.
Maybe it’s part of your workout.
Maybe it’s sitting outside early in the morning.
Turn everything else off and give yourself permission to sit with your thoughts, your ideas, your struggles, your questions and maybe even your prayers.
Don’t immediately try to fix them.
Just listen.
You might be surprised by what you hear when nothing else is competing for your attention.
Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is nothing at all.
Find the silence.
Around GreatLIFE…
- FALL IS IN FULL SWING!
As the seasons change, there’s still a lot happening around GreatLIFE! From fall junior golf opportunities and Sport Performance programming to group fitness challenges and leagues getting underway at Suburban Lanes, there are plenty of ways to stay active and connected this fall. - SPORT PERFORMANCE CONTINUES TO GROW
We’re excited to continue expanding Sport Performance opportunities, including programming in Harrisburg. Helping young athletes build confidence, strength and healthy habits continues to be an area we believe has tremendous potential to impact families throughout our communities. - MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR HEALTH
We continue looking for ways to make GreatLIFE more than simply a place to work out. One of the latest additions is GO supplements now available at Woodlake, giving members another convenient resource to support their health and performance goals.
THANK YOU! Whether you’re golfing, working out, bowling, participating in a program or simply connecting with people at one of our facilities, thank you for being part of the GreatLIFE community. We never take for granted the opportunity to serve you and your family.
BOOK CLUB:
This month’s book was The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Warner Klemp.
What I appreciated most about this book is how much it challenges us to pay attention to how we are showing up.
Leadership isn’t only about what we accomplish. It’s also about our mindset, our reactions, the stories we tell ourselves and the energy we bring into a room.
Three Big Takeaways:
1. Are You Above or Below the Line?
One of the simplest ideas in the book is learning to recognize whether we’re operating from openness, curiosity and responsibility — or defensiveness, blame and fear.
We’re all going to spend time below the line. The key is becoming aware enough to recognize it and make a different choice.
2. Take 100% Responsibility
It’s easy to focus on what someone else should have done differently. Conscious leadership asks us to first look at ourselves.
What part did I play? What can I control? What can I learn from this?
That shift alone can completely change how we approach a difficult situation.
3. Curiosity Changes Conversations
Instead of immediately trying to prove a point, fix a problem or defend our position, what happens if we get curious?
Ask another question. Listen a little longer. Consider that there may be something we haven’t seen yet.
For me, the biggest takeaway is a simple question I can carry into almost any situation:
How am I showing up right now?
Sometimes creating enough silence to honestly answer that question may be one of the most important things we can do.
NEXT MONTH’S BOOK:
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle.
A Final Thought…
We spend a lot of life trying to fill the empty spaces. Maybe every once in a while, the empty space is exactly what we need.
Turn down the noise. Give yourself room to think. And don’t underestimate what you might discover in the silence.
Thanks as always for being part of the GreatLIFE community.
To the Journey,
Nick