I once read a biography of a very respected inventor of the last century. What caught my attention was when I got to the point where it was said that he had a "thinking room." That is, he created a room where he would retire to each day to cut off from noise and from distractions, solely to think. He enjoyed staying alone and reasoning out the way forward. At a point, someone came looking for him and was told that he was busy. After a while, he came out to meet his guests. The guests told him that he was told he was busy. He responded with "I was busy thinking." It was obvious that he was intentional about maximising the gift of solitude, and he used it for his advantage. No wonder he achieve so much in his field of endeavours. When you learn how to be quiet in the midst of the noisy world, you will discover a lot of potentials within you.
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The world we live in now is becoming louder, noisier, and more connected than it has ever been in history. Right from waking up, people immediately enter into one form of engagement or the other; from checking their mails, to social media, to a lot of tasks, etc. The world is so much busy now that a lot of people do not even know the power that lies in silence. In fact, some people mistake isolation for loneliness. People are so much concerned about connecting with other people that they have lost connection with their own self. In order to gain true mental mastery, deep creativity, and deep clarity, you have to learn to step away from the crowd and from the noise, and reflect inwards. Solitude is not a punishment, so you should welcome it, because it is a very significant gift that you can give to yourself.
You have to learn to silence the noise that comes to you. When you are surrounded by people, by social media, and all their noise, your mind may begin to take in more than it needs. You might even see yourself absorbing anxiety, people's opinions, and other people's thoughts within you. Before you know it, your own authentic voice may begin to be submerged by the surrounding noise. This is why solitude is very important. When you separate yourself from the crowd, you will begin to think clearer, and it is then that you will begin to discover what you truly want. Solitude actually gives one the freedom to separate themself and their beliefs from the expectations of others.
I have come to realise that solitude is the birthplace for creativity. A lot of the people who created mind-blowing things did not do it in the midst of noise, but they constantly took moments away from the crowd for personal reflection. The human brain may not be able to function in full innovative power when it is in a state of constant reaction. Imagine being busy with responding to chats, reacting to work emails, checking your social media handles, drafting a text message, and being busy throughout the day, when will you have time to release the creative power of your mind? Mind-blowing achievements require focus, undivided attention, and self-reflection. By being alone, you will connect more with yourself, process complex information better, and create solutions easily.
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It is worthy to note that solitude does not mean loneliness. That you are to withdraw yourself from the noise and from the crowd does not mean that you should completely cut off all interactions with humans. After all, you will definitely need people in whatever thing you want to achieve. It simply means that you should create moments to be alone, to think, reflect, and connect more with your inner self. With the way the world is getting more noisy, you need moments to stay alone for the sake of your sanity and mental health. You have to understand that choosing solitude does not mean selfishness, neither does it mean an anti-social behaviour, rather it is a means of self-preservation.
When you embrace solitude, you will be surprised what you will find in the quiet. When the distractions are gone, you will be able to confront your fears, resolve inner doubts, and become more mentally coherent. It may not be comfortable to choose solitude at the first, but in the long run, you will see the blessedness in it. As a matter of fact, there are things you may not achieve until you have learnt to maximise being alone.
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