We need solitude…

The Power of Solitude

Technology has profoundly changed our relationships with other people, with time, with how we live our lives. Yet, the biggest impact has been in our relationship with ourselves which transcends all other relationships. 

Being with ourselves is not enough. We see ourselves as a void to be filled - with entertainment, information or with possessions. We think being alone is the same as loneliness… Artists, musicians, leaders and everyday people throughout history have embraced solitude, stillness and quiet as both a way of replenishing their souls and feeding their creative inspiration… Genius inventor Nikola Tesla made his discovery of the rotating magnetic field on a walk by himself through a park in Budapest. When he lived in Paris, American writer Ernest Hemingway took long walks along the river to inspire his writing. Solitary walks were also part of the daily schedules for Charles Darwin, Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr., Walt Whitman and Ludwig van Beethoven. Bill Gates has twice a year taken what he calls “think week” where he spends seven days alone in a cabin in the forest. During that time, he reads and thinks.

So how do we deal with the problem of information overload, Mike Erwin asks in his article Harvard Business Review: “There is no silver bullet to solving the complex problems ushered in by the information age. But there are some places to start, and one of them is counterintuitive - solitude. Having the discipline to step back from the noise of the world is essential to staying focused. This is even more important in a highly politicized society that constantly incites our emotions, causing the cognitive effects of distractions to linger. We need solitude, a state of mind, a space in which to focus one’s own thoughts without distraction — and where the mind can work through a problem on its own.”

— Excerpt from Ray Williams book Know Myself and Neither do You (Teacher, Author, CEO, HR Executive, Management Consultant, Executive Coach, and Director of numerous private/public sector boards. Williams focuses on the principles and behaviours of good leaders, and positive workplace culture. He has written four books and more than 300 articles. Williams is known as one of Canada’s top CEO coaches). 

This is good to hear because the older I get, the more down time I seem to need. Even social time seems fraught with competing, emotionally charged opinions. (An emotionally charged reaction led Will Smith to charge the stage, slap and then cuss out Chris Rock, at the fricking Oscars!). More than two years of pandemic living, climate change concerns, economic stress/fall out, let alone the typical relationship/family/work stressors and you’ve got a mountain of built up frustration. So! Time alone to decompress is potentially a much needed lifeline. Just sayin’ :) Hugs. XO

Blessings,

Chatgirl