As someone who spends a lot of time presenting and writing, I have just realized that I need to spend a lot more time listening.
I am sitting on a hilltop right now far away from the highway noises and the only thing I can hear are birds and the occasional breeze. I am relishing the quiet. My brain needs this time. I don’t think I realized how much noise there is in my daily life.
My son has moved back home to take on a new college challenge and he has music on all day long. It's the kind that involves lots of thumping with words that are unintelligible. My office is next door to his room so the sounds and the vibration are inescapable.
Our brains are only capable of processing a limited amount of information at once, so it is no wonder that in an environment of constant noise, our brain is working overtime.
I wondered what happens when I sit and listen in silence. Here’s what I learned:
1. I can’t sit still for very long. I just can’t sit in one place. I have to be up and around and keep coming up with things that I need to do. (I am considering medication for what is clearly a medical condition – probably restless leg syndrome if those commercials are right.)
2. Ideas sort of float into my head when there is no other distraction. Beautiful scenery, fresh air and an occasional bird call helps too.
3. No amount of sitting at my desk and trying to make myself focus on a particular topic can produce the desired outcome. I must allow ample time away from my desk. I have to absorb the concept and understand the details first and then walk away and let my subconscious mind play with the details. It’s as if my mind goes off and roams through the filing cabinet that is my brain until it locates a possible connection. It pulls any pertinent information onto an accessible shelf and waits for me to re-engage. When I do, the ideas appear at a rapid pace.
4. Humor is a spoiled child. Humor doesn’t make itself visible on command. It hangs out with its first cousin, creativity, and only appears when it’s good and ready. And you never know what makes the little bugger want to come out and play.
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Am I the only one who has that recurring nightmare about being late for class and having to take a test and not being able to find my classroom? |
Geni Whitehouse CPA, CITP, CSPM Author, speaker, trainer > 50% Countess of Communication, Brotemarkle,Davis Co. > 50% Writin', speakin', consultin' Co-founder of SolveServices.com a remote bookkeeping service for wineries. How to hire me. Author How to Make a Boring Subject Interesting : 52 ways even a nerd can be heard I have a ton of other websites including my newest for Twitter newbies www.evenatwit.com Originally from Greenville, SC, I now live in Napa, California. Contact Geni
I am an accountant on a mission. I want to permanently remove the blight of BORING that has attached itself to members of my profession.
But the boring blight doesn't stop there. It's everywhere. I've found it in wineries (although it's a tad more palatable when served with alcohol), in science labs, even in Art museums. And technology people carry the "B" gene too. But the condition need not be fatal. I lecture around the country to accountants and technology audiences and I have a ball. I was a partner in an Atlanta CPA firm when I realized technology was my true passion and I have been fighting the nerd versus geek battle ever since. Through some stroke of absolutely amazing luck, I now find myself in Napa -- the most gorgeous, hospitable place imaginable. Are you on Twitter? You can follow my nerdy life there : evenanerd Contact me [email protected] I am a graduate of the Jeff Justice Comedy Workshoppe and the Persuasive Speaker course taught by Speechworks. I highly recommend both of these organizations. I have also taken training from the amazing Lynda Spillane. I am not unbiased, nor do I wish to be. I have done work for anyone and everyone in the software industry or the accounting profession. If I am not impressed by what you do or can't find an angle that is interesting or unique, I won't work for or with you. And if you are stodgy or boring, there are not enough dollars or even euros to make me help you. See samples of my writing here: www.salestaxradar.com www.mybizcounts.com Archives
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