Loud Silence

I find it hard to do nothing - yet I know we all need time to clear our minds...

One thing that works for me is "loud silence" - something loud enough to block out the "noise" in my head yet invisible enough to give me clear space:

• Music I know really, really well - I use "chillout"
• Climbing hills - especially ones with a great view
• Skiing is still the best for me, but harder in short doses!

Any other suggestions welcome...

Comments

[Oli Barrett]

Great topic Tom. This reminds me of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's work on the subject of what he calls 'Flow'.

Quoting from Wikipedia;

In his seminal work, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csikszentmihalyi outlines his theory that people are most happy when they are in a state of flow—a Zen-like state of total oneness with the activity at hand and the situation. The idea of flow is identical to the feeling of being in the zone or in the groove. The flow state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing. This is a feeling everyone has at times, characterized by a feeling of great freedom, enjoyment, fulfillment, and skill—and during which temporal concerns (time, food, ego-self, etc.) are typically ignored.

In an interview with Wired magazine, Csikszentmihalyi described flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

Hope this is useful!

[Ian Hobbs]

Training does it for me - total concentration on technique (or not throwing up...) leaves no room for anything else!

btw...although I don't really know either of you, it strikes me that you & Jim Rees (see my LinkedIn network or the tri-club bulletin board) should talk to each other if you get the chance (I think he lives quite near to you)