All the Noise Around You

Powerfully Choosing to Mute the Noise

Life can be busy.  We can be going in so many directions, especially when we are navigating a work-life-family integration.  In the busyness, we must remember to be intentional.  Being intentional to be quiet.  Being intentional to be still.  Being intentional with our breath.  Being intentional with our thoughts.  Being present.

Being Intentionally busy can bring about growth, but being busy for busy’s sake can also result in just creating a lot of noise, leading to chaos and even burnout.

Let’s use the common practice of building a brand or a business as an example.  There are approaches that have you mass email, text, and inundate social media to build a lot of noise.  On the contrary, there are other approaches that say to be present and build those meaningful relationships with intention because, as my friend Nora DiNuzzo says, “Before anyone is going to write you a check, they first need to KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST you.”

When you mute the noise around cold emails and direct messages and set intentions to engage with humans, as a real-life human, things happen, and you are now getting shit done with meaningful and deep relationships.  These types of relationships take time.  They are like new plants that need to be watered, put into the right amount of sunlight, tended to, and cared for.

This idea of muting the noise and being present is also true in our personal lives.  Society may say that we have to do all the things, be all the things to all people, and be everywhere at all times.  Setting intentions for yourself and finding those quiet moments to be alone with your thoughts allows for you to dream big for now and for the future. I would also argue that when you mute the noise for yourself, it makes you a whole and more harmonious person.  When you are taking care of yourself, you are able to show up fully and intentionally, personally and professionally.

One of my newest GSD connections, Ashley Brooke James of TRILUNA, guides clients and organizations in their wellness journeys.  What I have come to appreciate about her workshops and sessions is that no matter if she is hosting the TedX Nashville Women’s Event or the Girls in Tech Mindshare Brunch, she always finds the moment to guide her audience through the practice of breathing and meditation.

What this has shown me is that we can, literally, be anywhere, in any moment, and we can close our eyes, mute the noise and take ourselves through an intentional mindfulness practice that centers us, calms us, and energizes us.

Powerfully choosing to mute the noise and be present is something that I’m working on for myself and my family.  It’s a daily example that we are works in progress and don’t live in a state of perfection.