Times of reflection and silence can boost energy, calm stress and help us to more productive and effective.
This can also help boost our critical and creative thinking skills.
Yet how often do we really make time and space for this to happen? Most of the time we are rushing from one source of stress to the next, often on auto-pilot and often reactive. There are so many benefits to making a little more space in our day for silence.
Here are five key benefits to doing so:
Silence helps us live consciously. According to psychologists and philosophers alike, silence can wake us up and provide meaningful answers in our lives. Silence can give us a gentle nudge to let us know if something doesn’t feel right by putting us in touch with our body and our emotions. The psychological benefits of experiencing silence—even when it makes us uncomfortable—can mean more purposeful living.
Silence can increase self-awareness, self-compassion and improve decision-making skills with improved mental clarity.
Use space and silence to become more mindful and self-compassionate.
Mindfulness is the first step in emotional healing. It’s being able to turn toward and acknowledge our difficult thoughts and feelings—such as inadequacy, sadness, anger or confusion—with a spirit of openness and curiosity. Self-compassion involves responding to these difficult thoughts and feelings with kindness, sympathy and understanding so that we soothe and comfort ourselves when we’re hurting.
Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional well-being. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise. Being both mindful and compassionate leads to greater ease and well-being in our daily lives.
Using silence to create…
Using examples from birdsong, the natural lilt of emphatic language and even a cooking pan lid, singer-songwriter and TED Fellow Meklit Hadero shows how the everyday soundscape, even silence, makes music. “The world is alive with musical expression,” she says. “We are already immersed.”
Silence can enhance conversations. By choosing silence, you will naturally listen more and others have the opportunity to share more—enhancing your relationships.
Silence as a tool for increased emotional regulation. Silence can be the space between a feeling and a response. Take a silent pause and choose your response calmly and wisely.
It gets better with practice. If silence is something you rarely get or even fear it a little—lean toward activities that help you practice. Try a yoga class. Listen to nature radio. Drive with the radio off. Sit on your deck or porch in the morning and take in the quiet and stillness. When you go to bed, use the silence to get calm or listen to it raining outside. Let silence help you wander through happy memories or list what you are grateful for in your life right now. Buy some noise-canceling headphones. Ask your family to support you with a 15-minute break for silence.
Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “Silence is a source of great strength.” Taking the time for silence sends yourself the message that you are worth hearing. Honour your life by practicing silence regularly.
