Do You Struggle with that 'Inner Noise'?

This morning I was sat in my garden having my first cuppa of the day and when looking back at the house I noticed a bee landing on the sun warmed bricks just under the eaves and thought it must be taking a breather or maybe just warming itself through in the sun.  

Other bees were ‘bzzeeing’ themselves nearby including trying to share my tea, and after having nearly thrown the tea all down myself, I found the particular cheeky bee who had nearly succeeded quite amusing!

 
My eyes were diverted to above the house and into the clear blue sky as three Swifts were darting about catching bugs. Flutter, dart, spin, they can’t ‘alf move.  I thought 
to myself, I bet they don’t give a second glance or thought as to what the rest of the world is doing.

Behind me the trees encompassed their own musical chorus. I’m not sure how many birds there were but goodness they know how to put on a vocal show.



So what has this got to do with business I hear you say, well, as I was watching and listening I realized just for a few rare precious minutes I had been able to switch off from all that ‘inner noise’ that’s continuous as a business owner. From the time you open your eyes, it’s never ending and it’s not just business … 
 
-         how many emails have come in
-       who needs answering urgently, who can wait
-       have I uploaded / scheduled my social media
-       what am I cooking for dinner tonight
-       I must put the washing on
-       Do I have any parcels/client post due today
-       I really must hoover
-       Crickey look at the dust, I’ll do that at the weekend
-       Where are the family today, do I need to be available at any point
-       I must call the repair man
-       What networking am I up for today
-       Have I renewed the car insurance
-     I must get the kids up and do the school run (oh no, I don’t have to do that any more,      they’re now grown up!)
-       I must get to the Post Office today ‘before’ the post goes

 
And so on and so on …..
 
How many of you identify with some of these thoughts?
 
Well those rare precious minutes above have great meaning. We all, yes that includes you, no matter what you are doing today I dare you to step outside your ‘inner noise’. Stop what you are doing, step outside the building you are in, find a quiet spot if  possible and close your eyes, take a deep breath and listen, what do you hear, the hum of distant traffic, trees, people, silence, whatever it is relax into that outer noise, take another deep breath, did you hear that – your own breathing, how often do you hear that, how often do you take notice of it even? Open your eyes and look around you, what do you see, don’t look for anything specific, just let your eyes take in your surroundings. It’s amazing what’s going on above, below and around you.
 
I hope you managed to step out of your inner noise for a few minutes, nice to get away wasn’t it!
 
We should value these moments and practice them as when life is busy there is always a place to escape.
By Jacky Workman