Silence Is Truly Golden

Silence is Golden.

This phrase is used by writer Thomas Carlyle tells about the virtues of silence. It goes on as,

“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together, into the daylight of Life… Speech too is great, but not the greatest.”

Introverts can get a bad rap when we choose to zip our mouths, patiently listen, seek to be alone or just observe.

I honestly don’t care that much what my extroverted counterparts argue, I wouldn’t trade places with them for anything.

Talking to the masses doesn’t do much to charge my battery or inspire, but being alone or in peace and quiet?

Now we’re talking.

I embrace the notion that silence really is Golden.

But silence does something else that I only recently began to understand, and whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, it’s something to ponder.

When we are silent and waiting, something great inside us keeps on growing, and the silence gives birth to creativity.

Profound.

I’ve often wondered why whenever I’m asked to collaborate or brainstorm in a group of people, I’m literally rendered speechless.

Blank.

No good ideas pour out, no bubbling of creative juices whatsoever.

Zero.

My best ideas happen when I’m quiet, with a journal or my laptop in hand, and I allow my mind to wander, dump out my thoughts, and have no influence from anything or anyone else.

The silence opens me up to think deeper, without hesitation or structure, and regardless of whether the thoughts are absurd or profound, it feels like anything could happen.

Something amazing usually does.

Apparently, there is some truth to that notion, according to Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. She contends that people who brainstorm or brain dump together generate fewer ideas than the same number of solitary people working alone.

She adds:

“Solitude is a crucial and underrated ingredient for creativity…From Darwin to Picasso to Dr. Seuss, our greatest thinkers have often worked in solitude.”

That tracks.

It turns out that there’s truth behind the idea that relying solely on data and external factors can cause burnout and limit your ability to be a creative thinker.

Research of psychologist Jonathan Smallwood confirms the claim. Smallwood found out that human creativity is heavily dependent on one’s ability to shut out external factors and focus on the so-called self-generated thoughts.

If you’re not used to allowing yourself some alone time to shut down and allow your creativity to unfold, it can be a little uncomfortable at first.

Many people experience discomfort when they sit with their own thoughts in silence. But if you can push through the emptiness and unease, you’ll experience something transformational.

You have to get past the idea that the more information you gather from external sources, the smarter, more effective, and creative you’ll be.

The opposite is true.

The reason meditation is such a valuable practice is that when you allow yourself to experience periods of deliberate silence, your brain will reset and be open to receiving new and inspired ideas.

You may have noticed that creative ideas may come to you in the shower, on a walk, when you’re daydreaming, or during times of relaxation.

This provides some foundation to the idea that if you are working non-stop, you could be killing your creativity without even knowing it.

Some pretty famous cases in history prove this theory.

In her book The Happiness Track, Stanford University’s Emma Seppälä introduces research by the University of California Santa Barbara, which found that people are more creative after letting their minds wander.

If it’s good enough for Nikola Tesla, who it’s been said had an aha moment about rotating magnetic fields while walking with his college friend, you should believe it.

New ideas are born while you’re alone. This was Tesla’s belief.

“Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.” — Nikola Tesla

Don’t think this means you need to plan week-long getaways in order to get your creative juices flowing. It doesn’t need to be that hard at all.

Find times throughout your day and week and make time for solitude.

Schedule it into your life:

• Get up an hour earlier to experience the pre-dawn solitude
• Get to work before others so you don’t have distractions from the office buzz
• Get out in the middle of each workday and go for a walk or drive
• Stay up a little later than everyone else and allow yourself some well-deserved, late-night alone time
• As much as you can, remove all distractions by disconnecting or turning off your devices
• Make your alone time a priority each day

When you carve out even small moments of intentional, planned silence and solitude you will notice profound effects on your creative thought processes.

Creativity is in you and with you everywhere, all the time, and being alone with yourself in peaceful silence is the best way to channel it.

Shhhhh…..

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Previously Published on medium

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