The Power of Keeping Quiet

(Some ideas need a little privacy to grow).

An Idea arrives. A little spark. An unexpected possibility. A nudge. Something you maybe cannot quite explain, but something you would like to explore. And almost immediately, you want to tell someone.

I understand that impulse. Excitement likes company.

But I am beginning to appreciate the space between having an idea and announcing it or worse asking permission to explore it or join it or ???? An idea can be a very tender beginning. You have not lived with it long enough to understand what it might become.

Then someone asks a perfectly reasonable question. “How would that work?” Another offers a suggestion. “You know what you should do instead?” And still another person looks doubtful. Nothing terrible has happened. They may even be trying to help. But now you find yourself explaining, adjusting, and defending something you were only beginning to discover. THEIR voices can become louder than the small voice that brought you an idea.

Perhaps we are allowed to spend a little time listening to that voice first.

It’s good to write a few notes. Take a walk with the thought. Try something small. Or just see whether it still interests us after the first burst of excitement settles.

We do not, should not feel it necessary to announce every beginning.

But beware here, because and of course, keeping quiet can also become a very comfortable hiding place. “I am still working on it”, can protect an idea, or postpone the moment when we risk doing anything with it.

That is where I would want to ask myself:
Is this quiet helping my idea develop?
Am I learning, experimenting, moving?
Or am I waiting until nobody could possibly question me?
That last day is unlikely to arrive.

Eventually, an idea may need another perspective. A useful question. Someone with experience who can help us see what we have missed. We can choose that person thoughtfully and intentionally. We can even say, “This is very early. I’d love you to listen while I figure out what I mean.”

There is room between announcing everything and hiding everything.

A little privacy. A little practice. Then a conversation.

Some ideas need us to hear ourselves before we invite the room to speak.

💚 The Accidental Blogger