Too Loud to Hear, Think, Act?

“A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live.” ~B Russell

When I first read this quote I laughed and said to myself, “I have 4 healthy, energetic, and loud children…along with a husband that loves to listen to loud music or play a movie with the volume turned way up. Quiet? Seldom is it ever quiet!” My office is in an old building where the pipes sing and pop constantly…and the floors creek and echo. Quiet? Hardly! It seems I am surrounded by constant noise…as I believe, most of us are.

Noise doesn’t just come from sound. Noise can play itself out as confusion, angst, overwhelm, and anxiety. Emotions that derail you from experiencing ease and joy. Noise can take the form of life events and/or circumstances. Navigating the complexities of divorce, a sudden death of a loved one, the loss of a job or forced retirement. 

I have become acutely aware of how important, even vital, it is for me to have “quiet”. Without quiet, I cannot hear my thoughts–positive or negative. Without quiet, I cannot hear my own inner guidance. The success of my business, the well-being of my relationships with family, clients, friends, and money rely upon the state of my inner self. Too much noise leaves me frazzled, unable to hear my thoughts and guidance…it renders me disabled and ineffective. Not that I don’t find joy in hearing my children play, I most certainly do! There is good reason why the two words, “peace and quiet”, are married. To me, they are forever connected…one cannot exist without the other.

A dear friend of mine stated it perfectly, “Perhaps the goal is to achieve inner quiet in the face of life speaking loudly.” 

Truth is life happens. Most of which is beyond our control. Except for one thing…how we choose to react to our circumstances, our environment, and our relationships. Not only do we choose how we react to noise, we choose whether we exist in noise or quiet. I’m sure we all know someone who purposely creates noise to drown out their thoughts and feelings.  They don’t want to hear themselves think; they don’t want to admit to how they feel. Listening to their thoughts would mean they would have to acknowledge and deal with the challenges in life they are currently faced with…financial and otherwise. Sound familiar? 

Financial well-being and happiness are found within the space of quiet. Embrace your thoughts, hear them. Thoughts are the indicator of how you are feeling. Thoughts are power, leading you on a path to wealth and success, if you let them.  So how do we find inner quiet when life speaks loudly?

Drive in the stillness of silence—Enjoy a walk or run without your i-tunes—Journal. Observe your thoughts in a quiet place. Decide which thoughts will move you forward in creating the life you desire; acknowledge and release those that won’t.

When life is speaking loudly, turn down the volume or leave the room! Your health, your wealth, your life depends on it…