Be Still

One of my favorite parts of the day is the early morning when I have the kitchen to myself. After making coffee and feeding our dog (Jed Walker), I get a few quiet moments to think and plan. And at the end of the day, it’s incredibly helpful to reflect on the good things that have happened and to set my intentions for the days ahead. Sometimes I jot down a few of my thoughts in a journal. Admittedly, I need to be better about writing them down; thoughts and intentions are all too fleeting if we don’t write them down.

In our constantly connected, multi-tasking, media-saturated society, we don’t spend enough time in solitude, taking breaks, and being still. These moments of quiet — being silent without distraction, thinking deeply, contemplating, sorting things out in our minds — help us to step back from all the things ricocheting around in our heads. It allows us to reset and figure out what’s most important.

When we make time for stillness, we make better decisions. We’ve all experienced the regret of an impulse purchase. And we’ve all made unwise comments to our spouse, children, friends, and colleagues in the “heat of the moment.” We’ve all impetuously said “yes” to things that, in hindsight, we’d probably should have said “no” to doing. Or conversely, passed up a great opportunity without thinking it through. We don’t always have the time and space to contemplate every decision (e.g. what brand of toothpaste should I buy?) and some decisions require quick action (e.g. should I honk my horn to alert the driver of that 18-wheeler veering into my lane?), but setting aside a time, most days, for undisturbed thinking and rejuvenation can lead to better decisions and actions. When we are still, we become more open-minded, better able to clear away preconceptions, biases, and emotions.

Stillness can help us to be more mindful — to be present. To the here and now. This moment. To be better at seeing what’s in front of us. To hearing what people are really saying. To tasting and enjoying the food we are eating. To act with intention and clarity. To bring greater focus to everything we do.

Trust no future, howe’er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!  

Act, -act in the living present!  

Heart within, and God o-erhead!

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We need to limit our inputs and be selective – filtering out the inconsequential from the essential. If you want good outputs, you need to carefully control the inputs. When there is too much information, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Trivial details are given far too much importance. We’re glued to the television to “stay on top” of the latest news. We constantly check our email* in order to respond in a timely manner. We obsessively watch our social media accounts to see how many likes or followers we have. We grab our phones every time it pings us with a notification. We engage in gossip because we feel we must be “in the know”. We don’t.

Important stuff will still be important by the time you get to it. The unimportant stuff will have made its insignificance obvious (or simply disappear). Then, with stillness rather than needless urgency or exhaustion, you will be able to sit down and give what deserves consideration your full attention.
    –Ryan Holiday, from Stillness Is The Key

It’s hard to think and act clearly when you are flooded with information. Analysis paralysis sets in. Most information is just noise and it prevents us from thinking lucidly. Dwight Eisenhower famously controlled the information he was presented. You may be familiar with the Eisenhower Box – a matrix that helps set priorities by determining what’s important and what’s urgent. Urgent things aren’t always important. In fact, most aren’t. And many important things, while not urgent, require time to contemplate and carefully consider. For me, setting aside time, most days, for self-development is important work. Often it’s reading a chapter in a book or a journal article. Sometimes it’s watching a lecture on Coursera or attending a conference.

Everyone could use more white space in their lives.

When it becomes part of your daily routine, you don’t need to “make” time for stillness. In his book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink talks about becoming more mindful of the secret patterns in our daily routines. Most of us are most energized and engaged in the morning hours. Our energy often wains in the afternoon but often perks up a bit in the early evening hours. To sustain our efforts, our minds and our bodies need regular breaks. Even very short breaks can help us regain our focus. Without breaks, we make mistakes. Our attention wains. Medical errors increase. (Wright 2006) To be clear, a “break” does not mean allowing ourselves to be distracted by a ping or notification … or to go wandering around the Internet watching cat videos on YouTube. No, a “break” is purposeful. Intentional. So we need some time for restoration to perform at our best. Here are some of Pink’s suggestions: 

• Purposely schedule at least 3 breaks per day and treat these appointments with respect. During your breaks full disengage from your work. Walk around. If the weather is good, get outside.
• Consistently take an early afternoon 15-20 minute power nap! Try a nappuccino! Or engage in a 15-20 minute mindfulness activity like meditation. Habituation is the key.
• Take a daily social break. Reach out to someone you haven’t connected with in a while. Or write a note of thanks. Eat lunch with your colleagues. Schedule an afternoon coffee (a fika) with a friend or someone you want to get to know better (a potential mentor, a student, new employees).
• Get regular micro-breaks throughout the day. If you work a lot on a computer, rest your eyes for a minute. Hydrate and wriggle your body. Do a short (30-60 second) controlled breathing exercise.

So, how will you create some stillness in your day? Like all habits, it will take time to develop a daily pattern with regular breaks and establish the space you need to be still.

Being still does not mean don’t move. It means move in peace.
–E’yen A. Gardner

Cheers-

Stuart

*I’m guilty of checking email far too often. I’m trying to build better email habits, but its a struggle.

Wright MC, Phillis-Bute B, Mark JB, et al. Time of day effects on the incidence of anesthesia adverse events. Qual Saf Health Care 2006; 15 (4): 258-63.