Listening to the Silence
One of my daily routine is listen to white noise as I work. The white noise helps me to concentrate. Lately, I try to switch up my routine by listening to nothing. No music, no podcast. The silence is both scary and deafening.
When I am not listening to white noise, the mind takes over. All kinds of thoughts go through my mind. Those thoughts are everything but related to my task. I would struggle and fight my thoughts for at least 30 minutes before I can settle into my work. Even then, work quality is poor.
By listening to the silence, I have to confront my thoughts. It is as if the devil is whispering into my ears. Distractions such as the need to check my phone. The thoughts that most difficult to ignore is the thoughts of wanting to do smaller easier but less important tasks. Such tasks are like eating junk food, it makes you feel good but lousy later.
By exploring into the silence, I only realise that my mind is a noisy place. Listening to White Noise while I concentrate on my work is only a temporarily solution. Knowing my thoughts and acting on my thoughts are two different matter. By acknowledging my thoughts without action, those thoughts loses energy. Soon my mind is less noisy. I still get distracted occasionally but at least I learn to co-exists with my mind.
Listening to the silence, you be surprised what your mind tells you.