If You're Too Tired to Speak Sit Next to Me~I Too am Fluent in Silence
"So, if you are too tired to speak,
Sit next to me, because
I, too, am fluent in silence."
R. Arnold
Sometimes when life speeds up,
and you're overwhelmed keeping up with
multiple life changes and expectations,
you forget to take your down time right when
you need moments of quiet in your day.
When you're tired;
When you don't want to interact;
When you don't want to speak or think;
Take moments in your day to do nothing.
Lose the expectations.
Regain your center.
Take that lunch break.
Don't allow others to invade
your much needed down time.
Start your day and week with a plan.
When others unwittingly attempt
to disrupt your scheduled breaks at work
give them other options.
If they must meet with you
during your scheduled breaks,
schedule your lunch at another time
or leave work earlier.
Failing to take your break
is not an option.
To be your best productive self
you need to approach
your work with a fresh mind.
You are not doing yourself or your work
any favors when you give up your
much needed work breaks.
Practice stopping and starting over many times a day.
A five minute brain reset
emerging out of nothingness
allows you to climb out of your rigid
reptilian mindset freeing you to upshift into
your cerebral cortex where you make better decisions.
When you're healing from surgery or illness--
or helping a loved one heal from surgery or illness--
let others know how you want to communicate.
People want to support you
but text and email messages
may be better than phone calls
or face to face visits.
No matter our situation,
we all need the healing of silence daily.
To be your best and offer your best,
replace the expectation of
always being available to others
with the expectation that you'll always
take time for yourself.
Taking care of others and doing your best
on the job requires you to first and foremost
care for yourself.
Silence is Golden.
"So, if you are too tired to speak,
Sit next to me, because
I, too, am fluent in silence."
R. Arnold
Thank you to Colleen McGinn for the
photograph of ice cream tulips.
