I have come to observe that sometimes, the loudest message can be silence. You have to understand that staying silent does not mean that you are weak, neither is it a sign of fear or surrender. Some people even think that when you refuse to say something, or when you decide to say silent, that you do not have what to say to defend yourself. But what you should understand is that silence does not indicate helplessness. Sometimes it can be a deliberate choice to make from your understanding of peace, self-control, and wisdom. It is not in every place that you should speak up, and it is not in every provocation that you should react. Silence can indicate a far greater strength than speaking.
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It takes a high level of wisdom to be able to know when to talk and when to keep quiet. You have to understand that wisdom is not a function of having a lot of things to say, but about knowing when to talk. It is not in every conversation that you have to contribute, there are times that you need to keep silent. You should not react or respond to everything, so that you will not lose focus. Imagine a runner participating in maybe a 200metre race, but keeps stopping to respond to spectators criticising or talking about him, he will definitely lose the race. In life, for the sake of your focus, you have to know when to talk and when to refrain yourself from talking. Know when your voice is needed, and what it is not needed.
You need to understand that silence has a way of protecting your peace. I have seen people talk carelessly out of anger and frustration, that the content of their words later came back to haunt them. In life, you cannot prevent people from offending you. In fact, even life itself might bring to you things that can make you angry, frustrated, or even disappointed, but you should know how to respond to it, so you will not hurt your peace of mind. People may offend you, criticise you, question your decision, and provoke you. But you do not have to explain yourself to everyone, you do not need to participate in arguments or defend your decisions. There are points that you will get to in life and you will understand that one of the greatest victories is not allowing someone's behaviour to determine your emotional and mental state.
There are scenarios where words may not be enough to make a statement, then allow your actions to speak instead. There are situations where explanations will be unnecessary because actions will effectively communicate the statement better. You do not have to announce your intentions, or your plans, or even convince people that you can do something. The best response to the people who doubt you is not trading words with them, but achieving success. When people underestimate you, instead of spending your energy and time in trying to dispute or arguing with them, you should invest your time and energy in becoming better. Let your success communicate what your words cannot communicate. You do not need to make noise in order to create impact.
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It is worthy to note that silence does not mean avoiding responsibilities. It is true that silence is very powerful, but you should understand that it is not in everything that you should be silent. There are actually times when remaining silent will simply mean an act of cowardice and complicity. When someone is being maltreated for example, or injustice is happening, or when the truth is being suppressed, you might need to lend your voice and speak up. Do not use the need for silence as an excuse to avoid difficult conversation, or to avoid taking responsibilities, or to tolerate something that is obviously wrong. True wisdom lies in knowing when to stay silent and when to speak up.
Even when you are speaking up, you should also know how to speak, so that it will produce a result that would be better than staying quiet. So you see, staying silent is good and necessary in some places, but it should not mean being inactive when you should speak up. Remember that you are not only responsible for your words but your inaction too.
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