Quiet is Not Idle, and It’s Not Busy Either

Being quiet does not mean being idle.
Nor does it mean being passive or reactive.

A lot can get done while being quiet.
Notice, I didn’t say you can do a lot.
I said a lot can GET DONE.

Big difference.

We like to think being busy is a sign of success.

You’ve heard these old saws…

“Important people are busy people.”
“Successful people are always doing more.”
“If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.”

We confuse being busy with being effective and productive.

Being busy doesn’t mean being effective.
Busy doing unimportant things is ineffective.

Being busy can often be counter-productive.
You can be so busy on the trivial you can’t get to what’s important and valuable.

Non-stop busyness is a not always a sign of success.
It’s can often be a sign of imbalance.

Doing is fulfilling.
Getting things done is important.

But non-stop doing is dangerous to health and well being.
It deprives us of time to just be, which is where life’s highest value resides.
Being busy virtually eliminates any time to be quiet.

You don’t have to meditate (or medicate) to be quiet.
You just have to be quiet.

Hey, if I can find time to be quiet in New Jersey, among the busiest and surely the loudest state in the Union, you have no excuse.

Start with five minutes a day.
Just be quiet with no distractions for five minutes.

Next week, do six minutes.

How much time to do it is not what matters most.
That you do it is what’s important.

Clarity came for me out of the quiet.
With clarity came a clearer order of what I value most and do best.

What came out of that was a value hierarchy, and how I can make good use of my time and the highest and best contribution.

What comes out of making my highest and best contribution is creating a larger banquet table that can enrich a lot more people.

Constantly being busy (really, it’s “doing” busy because you’re busy doing) creates a frenetic pace that leaves little time left over for actually being. With little time to be, there’s even less time to be quiet.

I used to have to schedule time to just be, or it simply didn’t make it into my busy calendar.

Now, I start with being as my highest value.
Next, I choose to do what I value most as often as I can.
Then, I move toward what I value without attachment to the outcome.

This “NEW Value Hierarchy™” is…

SOUL… ROLE… GOAL
How to Live a High Value Life

This is also the title of a new book about being who you are, doing what you love, and moving towards what you want.

There’s a silent but deadly epidemic raging. Three killer stress factors are ruining our lives!

SOUL FRUSTRATION
ROLE FRUSTRATION
GOAL FRUSTRATION

High on my list of work to do is to help eradicate these silent killers.

Mitch

P/S… On August 10 we open up a conversation around the NEW Value’s Game, and how to eliminate these “Big 3” stress factors.

I invite you to get in the value’s game with us.
It’s the richest game in town.