Reduce the Noise to Hear the Signal

Is it just me or is it really damn noisy these days??

Everywhere, absolutely everywhere, there is Noise, determined to pull us in multiple directions. The Noise uses the dirtiest of tactics in its attempts to draw us away and in like the vile temptress it is, not caring about the signals we want to hear that aligns us with the people, possibilities, and energy connecting us to self and our purpose. To what’s real for us, and not imagined or pretended.

This past year has been one of stark reality, in our relationships, our levels of engagement, our communities, within ourselves. It’s been hard. Damn hard. I know I feel myself drawn to Noise because I haven’t wanted to see, delve in, acknowledge, change the reality that’s bubbled up for me. And sometimes, I’ve let Noise’s siren call overtake me. I told myself that it was better (easier?) to do other things, rather than keep the channels clear for the signals I needed to pay attention, and would ultimately get me going in the right direction. I’m a work in progress.

In the book, Before Happiness, by Shawn Achor, he gives four criteria of noise that I have found helpful to consider when trying to disentangle myself from the effects of Noise:

• Noise is unusable: your behavior will not be altered by the information (noise).