Do Nothing....By Yourself

 

When was the last time you sat in silence for an extended period?

No music, video, or others talking to you...just you and nature?

 
Albert Einstein was known for his brilliant scientific discoveries and attributed much of his creativity and insight to his time spent in solitude. He once said,

"The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind."

Earlier this week, I went for a long walk at a neighborhood park while waiting for a friend to get home. I sat for a bit and just looked out over the pond....my first instinct was to grab my phone and scroll social media, check email, watch youtube....anything...

It was SO hard to just sit and do nothing. 

What happened to us as a culture is that we can no longer sit for extended periods without stimulation.

 As a kid, I rode the bus every day to school and back again...there were times on the ride home was an hour. We didn't have phones or tablets to play on..we had our friends or ourselves to occupy the time. 

Which is probably why I got in so much trouble on the bus...I remember a few times Delmer, the bus driver, moved me to the steps on the bus, sitting next to the door as we flew down gravel Nebraska roads at 50mph. I'm sure I deserved to be moved as I most likely was jumping over the top of the seats to give myself something to do!           Thank you, Delmer, for the memories.. 

Do we need solitude? 

Do we benefit from moments of quiet and alone? 

YES...WE DO!

Solitude can have several benefits for the brain. 

Improved focus and creativity: Solitude can help individuals concentrate better, leading to improved creativity and productivity. When you are alone, you can focus on a specific task or idea without distractions, allowing you to generate new ideas and think more deeply about the problem at hand. I have found some of my most fantastic ideas have developed while on runs. Turn off the music & podcast. Just let your mind wander. 

Reduced stress: Solitude can help to reduce stress and anxiety by providing a peaceful and calming environment. Studies have shown that spending time alone can reduce the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in the body.

Better decision-making: Being alone can help us make more thoughtful decisions by reducing the influence of external factors and allowing us to focus on our own thoughts and feelings. Snap decisions are rarely good ones. Taking time to process and think before making major decisions is always a good plan. Heck, who hasn't written and email, then waited overnight before sending it...only to delete that email. Time allows us to process decisions before making poor ones. 

Michael Easter, author of the book "Comfort Crisis" shares more about the importance of solitude in developing creativity and deep thought..

Part of the “trick” to inspiring creativity is letting your mind wander. As James Danckert, who studies the effects of boredom at the University of Waterloo, put it, “boredom doesn’t make you more creative. It just tells you ‘do something!’”

In the past, that “something” was often productive and creative. Say, figuring out a novel way to find food. Today, boredom often leads us to pull out our phone to distract ourselves.

A better strategy is to sit with that discomfort of boredom and resist the pull of quick stimulation. Allow your mind to get into “unfocused mode” (basically, mind-wandering). This mode is associated with novel ideas. It’s why we often have our best ideas in the shower. 

Leverage Solitude

We view solitude as punishment in our society. For example, when young kids or prisoners misbehave, they go into “time-out” or solitary confinement. This might be why many of us report feeling uncomfortable alone. As a result, we often distract ourselves from that discomfort by being “with” others through TV, Podcasts, and other media.

I.e., we consume other people’s ideas rather than create our own. Creativity often requires the opposite—thinking without being overly influenced by the status quo. Solitude helps us get there.

Matthew Bowker, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Medaille College, told me that people often have breakthroughs when they’re alone. Leonardo, Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Mary Oliver, Georgia O’Keefe, and so many more all leveraged solitude to develop their ideas.

Without other voices barking in our ear, we can hear our own voice.

Take some time alone this week...no phone, music, video, peers...just you and creation around you. 

If you are brave enough, comment on how it went. 

How long were you able to be alone without stimulation? 

Share your story!




Trevor