The Productivity of Stillness

Have you convinced yourself that your success and self-worth are determined by how busy you are?

Do you need to formulate creative explanations or seek permission, from others and yourself, to just stop for a second and do nothing?

Do you think meditation is a waste of time and something only New Age people do?

If your answer is yes to one or more of these questions, you are doing yourself a MAJOR disservice.

We’ve all experienced the feeling expressed in the lyrics below, part of the song above…

I don’t wanna hide; I just want to lay here a little more
I don’t want to move from this place

We all have days when the accumulation of emails, to-do lists, meetings, and other expectations of our time becomes debilitating. We essentially shut down. Or, if we don’t shut ourselves down, our immune system will.

What if it didn’t have to get that bad?

What if you just shifted your perspective on what it means to do nothing?

What if you recognized that there is ACTUAL productivity in the act of stillness?

I recently started working with a client that is by all accounts brilliant. She has two Masters and a PhD. She is creative, strategic, organized and extremely engaging. So what’s her challenge? Being still. Until now, she has never slowed down long enough to figure out what she really wants. She can achieve anything she puts her mind to (she’s proven this time and time again), but she’s not sure what’s next. Like most genius over-achievers would, she energetically agreed to the goal I set for her: to learn how to be still.

It’s what happens in the stillness that makes most people uncomfortable. We are forced to listen to our thoughts, most of which tend to be fear-based and overly critical. That’s your ego talking. The other voice, the one that doesn’t make you hate yourself…that’s your authentic self (aka, your inner genius), and that’s who you should listen to. (If you need help figuring out the difference, or quieting the ego voice long enough to hear the good stuff, give me a call. I can help.)

Why do you think you have the most creative thoughts in the shower….it’s because you’re standing still with very little distraction!

Think about all the creatively brilliant ideas you have missed out on by staying too busy and/or constantly checking your phone for the next distraction. (I say this because I’ve struggled with the same problem.)

Some of the most wealthy and impactful people in the world meditate several times a day.


Just sayin’…

In Innocence,
Kathleen

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