By Younas Chaudhary
I grew up among poor and illiterate villagers in a remote village in Pakistan and learned the value of silence and accomplishing tasks.
For example, our village carpenter would wake up every day at the crack of dawn and spend a focused amount of time in silence sharpening his tools. Keep in mind there was no power those days. He was making sure that all his tools, including his main saw, would provide maximum efficiency when he set out to work. I often marveled at his dedication and his razor-sharp focus on accomplishing his task, all in silence without any disturbance.
The village barber taught me the power of focus. He would sharpen his razor on a stone, and I remember his intense concentration and dedication to the craft. This was a daily ritual in silence and his only thought was to provide the best shave possible for his customers.
In today’s world, we wake up late in the mornings and the first thing we do is to check our phones to read emails or text messages! Regrettably, I find sophisticated and intelligent people thoroughly disorganized and totally unfocused in the way they perform their work.
Most of them are bright folks but they cannot sit still for five minutes without checking their phones or blabbering about something that’s totally out of context. Their brains can conquer the world, but their thoughts wander from place to place.
I learned the power of silence at an early age from village folks and it has helped me accomplish many positive things in life. Remaining silent and staying focused during key moments in a negotiation has helped me clinch several deals. This was mostly because the other side was distracted, hasty, or unfocused.
Few of us have the capacity to sit still and enjoy silence for five minutes before we start twiddling our thumbs, checking our phones and getting distracted.
Learning silence is within each of us and it starts with training our mind. Decluttering the mind doesn’t require anything costly or expensive. There are so many books on staying focused, mindfulness, meditation, and the power of silence. They are a resource for those who are always scrambling and looking for the next new distraction.
I recently read an article about the Sphere of Silence in the Harvard Business Review where the author shares a 60-minute routine that over the past 30 years has helped him stay grounded, focused, and hopeful when his mind was spiraling out of control. The Sphere of Silence is broken into three segments of 30 minutes, 20 minutes, and 10 minutes each and you could start out with a shortened cycle. He says doing this in a 21-day cycle can boost your productivity and help you counter stress. Try it. Stay blessed!
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.
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