Can Stillness Be Productive?
BECOME SKILLFUL AT DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
At times, productivity means doing nothing at all.
~ Gina Greenlee
Winter is an invitation to stillness.
And yet we all have our own patterns of being-versus-doing version in this season, yet I feel curious about how we can access stillness within it. Not outside of it — I’ve tried this already (it’s called numbing) nor allowing ourselves to be swept up in it, then coping. Rather, I’m curious about accessing stillness while in our lives. This, on behalf of discovering the possibilities than can and will emerge from the practice.
In this article I explore the productive side of being and stillness. It’s written to honor the both/and of ourselves (the being and the doing) and is written in the spirit of appreciating that both stillness and productivity matter. This article marries the two, highlighting some of what we can expect when we make stillness a practice.
And, compassion.
As a doer, stillness is easily the most challenging skill I’ve had to learn given my capacity to simply “be” has been calcified for much of my life. While stillness has never been a coaching topic I’ve explored, I’ve been given countless practices by different coaches to cultivate it. Why? Because stillness makes all kinds of things more possible. Practices like walking slower, doing 10% less, relying less on the list, lying on the floor and doing nothing for ten minutes, meditation and others.
I am grateful to all these patient teachers, and today I will share some of the productive benefits of stillness I’ve learned on the journey. I hope this article will be a call to cultivating stillness as a practice right where you are, and especially for all my “doers”.
THE GIFT OF REST
I could write pages and pages about how stillness has brought rest. Not the “good night’s sleep” kind of rest, rather bone deep, soulful rest, and ease. It’s rest with depth, rest embodied, the kind of rest that I can barely find words for. The kind of rest that is full of permission to simply refuel. It’s the kind of rest that isn’t competing mentally or emotionally with doing rather, it is rest that allows for being with myself and requiring nothing of me.
How is this productive?
When you show up in your work, or for that big meeting, or a day of volunteering at the food bank and you have the energy and access to your deeper motivation or drive this matters and is productive. You are wholly there.
THE GIFT OF PRESENCE
When you find yourself actually in a conversation, present with the person in front of you this is presence. It’s also presence with yourself and presence in a moment. You are absolutely nowhere else and you can fully experience the moment. Fully experiencing a moment isn’t just being there, it’s also being IN it. Presence is also experiencing the sensations of a moment — the smells, sounds, sights etc. and being able to marinate in it.
How is this productive?
When your kids know you are with them, and are really with them and nowhere else, you get a massive checkmark — if not with yourself, with them. To your partner, bestie, kids, community this matters to them, and I know it matters to you too. Learning stillness gifts us with a deep connection and being with-ness.
GIFTS OF INTUITION, WISDOM & GUT KNOWING
Cultivating stillness allows for a deeper connection with your intuition — that sixth sense that allows you to hear yourself differently and trust it. Imagine being able to more easily access this place in you that can only really be heard in stillness (because of all the noise around us). The pace of our lives and our a distracted inner worlds keep our wisdom at bay, so much so that when we do hear it, it’s not recognizable as our own.
How is this productive?
Being able to tap into your own knowing — whatever you might call it and leave doubt behind, or to be able to trust the nudges that come to you and be open to following them, even if you didn’t have all the information — wow, is that productive or what? Imagine being your own most trusted source of insight, and being your own go-to person, that would cut down on a whole lot of time!
THE GIFT OF PRODUCTIVE CHOICE
This is one of my personal all time favorite benefits of cultivating a practice of stillness. When I opt out of frenzy and chaos, and slow down and access stillness, I remember that in all things, at all times, I have choice. I am a choice junkie, and I love reconnecting to the truth that I am never locked into anything, nor need to be anxious about anything because I get to choose what to do, how to show up in it, the nuances or possibilities in each moment, BOOM, this matters.
How is this productive?
Remembering that there is choice and possibility at every juncture is a huge save on energy. We’re never as locked in as we imagine, to remember that we can bring joy to every moment (even the dreadful ones), is significant. Choosing and re-choosing also enhances and strengthens commitment because we have opportunity to re-connect to our reasons for doing things in the first place.
THE GIFTS OF SUFFICIENCY & WHOLENESS
The meme or expression “I am enough” floats around social regularly. But what does it really mean? And even if we can wrap our mental selves around the term of “being enough”, to really know this in an embodied way, is to be also able to experience enough-ness in our hearts and bodies. To me sufficiency means a deep inner knowing that I do not have to “do” in order to be enough. And it means I really know it. Stillness helps me come back to this truth that I do not become more because I am busy and accomplishing.
How is this productive?
When we feel we must constantly stay in motion and do things all the time, we step into the way of the hamster wheel and it’s harder to release this pattern. Our doing becomes more about grasping, striving, needing, reaching versus intentional and mindful contribution.
THE GIFT OF LIVING WITH LESS CERTAINTY & MORE MYSTERY
More than ever we are living in a time of uncertainty, and when we’ve been taught our whole lives to find the answer or fix the problem, we wrestle at a soul level when we find ourselves in times of “not knowing”. Our lives are currently characterized by uncertainty, and we’re reaching for understanding like never before. This (anxious) quest to know and have the answers is honestly exhausting. Yes, we’re meaning making creatures, and we also can cultivate a marriage with uncertainty.
How is this productive?
When we give ourselves permission to not have all the answers, and even to be open to not having all the answers ever, we can access more mystery, surprise and delight. We become more open to the larger holding of the life, the same mystery which helps nature take her course. This isn’t about abdicating responsibility, rather a remembering that we’re not responsible for it all, and in this spirit we are more able to participate, and co-create.
THE GIFT OF INTENTIONAL “DOING”
So many of my clients want to move towards intention, a slowing down of their efforts and to be able to act from a place that is more connected to their deeper purpose. They are ready to leave behind their reactive ways and act from a conscious and awake place. Intuitively they know that when they “do” from this place they are more powerful and taking bolder action.
How is this productive?
Intentional doing is about taking clearer, more thought out/ thought through actions versus simply doing for the sake of doing and progressing. To be more able to access stillness, we are able to trust our steps, and slow down. Our doing feels powerful.
THE GIFT OF CALM & GROUNDEDNESS
Practicing stillness gives us room to feel. While initially this slowing down and feeling more fully may feel odd or even a wee bit scary (because we’re so used to doing), as we learn capacities to be still, allowing our breath to be an anchor, we can start to feel a deeper sense of calm, or inner settledness. It’s amazing!
How is this productive?
This is all about feeling more emotionally safe, and anchored, and this place allows us to explore — without acting first — the possibilities that lie in the dreams and risks we imagine. Instead of being propelled into our doings, instead we can explore, from a place of calm to know the terrain ahead. We take steps from a place of calm, not urgency or “should”.
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Have you experienced any of these gifts before?
Or, is there one you’re longing for?
I’d love to know — share your experience in the comments!