“He wondered if what he had taken for the richness of silence was really the poverty of never being heard.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

Today, it is easy to grow comfortable with allowing our social identity to speak louder than our truest selves. Constant connectivity—social media notifications, the easy availability of streaming video, surrounding ourselves with others, and overloading our calendars—encourages us to be blind recorders of the words and ideas of others and diverts our attention from self-reflection.

Without time and mind-space for reflection, there is no understanding.

Getting rid of external distractions is relatively easy. Keeping your thoughts from eating you alive—that can be difficult.

What is your critical inner voice telling you? “Don’t take chances?” “Toe the line.” “No one wants to hear you.” “You’re not _______ enough.” “No one wants to know you.” Whatever it is saying, I assure you that it is not a reflection of reality. Listening to and believing negative self-talk is a futile exercise in self-cruelty. Your best strategy to outmaneuver your inner voice is to dare yourself.

I challenge you to step back, press the pause button, and revel in silence.

Silence, while ambiguous, is not about the absence of sound — it invites the presence of everything else.

Just as white space is the most crucial element in visual design, and music, without space between notes, would not have the power to move us, silence adds intentionality and rhythm to life.

What revelations unfold in your white space as you pause?

What do you want others to know? What have you left unsaid?

As you would at a wine tasting, let your words roll around in your mouth. Feel their temperature, texture, balance, and complexity. Extract their essence. Then, ignore the directives of your inner critic, and spit them out.