Dry January is almost over…how about Quiet February next?

Happy new year, friends!?

I hope your holidays were as restful and reenergizing as mine. The flu found our home, and although that meant less extended family time, it also meant lots of time at home together huddled on the couch with our dogs watching Dexter reruns…and if you recall last month's topic on liminal spaces, this is exactly what I think we needed as a family (and, selfishly, what I needed most).

Though I still feel like I'm floating in that liminal space a bit, this month I've been doing what I do best to move through it: lots of reflection and journaling, yes..but also a lot of data collection and research. Conversations, networking, podcasts, research articles, and-so-on-to-infinity-and-beyond as I always do when I'm making important decisions or thinking through next steps on a goal.?

I love data - I love input. They are my love language. But, if you're anything like me (the Runner, through and through), you know it's easy to over-index in this space and find yourself overwhelmed and paralyzed with a gluttony of information and well-intended advice...almost to the point where you throw your hands up and yell screw it all, I'm out!?

…that's where Quiet February comes in.??

I've decided to take “being alone with your thoughts" to another level and check out for February. Want to join me?

Here's where I got the idea.

If you haven't read the above book Untamed by Glennon Doyle, I highly, highly recommend. It's a fabulous book on many levels, but one particular “scene” still haunts me (in a great way).?

The book is about, well, life: love, addiction and recovery, mental health, parenting, identity, and finding yourself. At one point, Glennon really struggled to hear her own voice in a swarm of anxious thoughts, overwhelm, input from others, her past trauma and addictions…the general noise of life. She'd lost her intuition and private voice in the noise. So, every day, she locked herself in a dark closet in her bedroom for a few minutes and, devoid of noise, sound, and light, just listened. Day after day, she did this until one day, she heard it: her own voice (in the book she calls her intuition “The Knowing”). From then on, she got to know that inner voice and her life dramatically changed.??

We all have that private voice and intuition buried beneath the noise - the one connected to our values, our vision of who we are at our best, and the “knowing” that helps us decide what to do next. The problem is, we rarely take the time to listen.?

Pause: In no way am I saying that the outer world doesn't have value - we need “data” in our lives to drive our decisions. We need mentors, coaches, friends, research, feedback, experts to weigh in, and so on. But sometimes, it can muddy the waters of our thoughts and cloud our decisions…on the flip side, some people I've worked with only listen to themselves and fail to gather invaluable feedback from the world around them. Equally as limiting, to be sure. Okay, unpause.

So, here's my thought: I've spent a lot of January doing my thing: research, data, feedback, input, balance, mentors, coach, yada yada.?

In February, I'm “going dark.” Not a social media fast per say; just not seeking info from anyone, anywhere.??

No additional input in.?

The only thoughts allowed in will be my own. I'll keep my journal close and lean on the quiet and my own voice. I'll trust I have the info I need to drive decisions on some larger challenges I'll face this year as a business owner, wife, and mother.?

Side note for those not in my inner circle: the business is fine. The family is fine. We are fine! Nothing major is happening. These are fun and exciting times of growth. I'm simply leveling up my game here as a business owner. No need to check on me!?

Ready for Quiet February?

So, here's the challenge if you want to join me:

• Soak up all that January has to offer. Take in your favorite and most motivating podcasts, newsletters, favorite LinkedIn experts, yada yada (yes I know that includes this one and I'm glad for that…I'm part of the noise too!). Get it all in!
• Decide what it is you want to focus on. A challenge, an important decision, more confidence in your own voice, simply hearing your own voice again, better focus, more clarity of thought, less worry, a goal you've set for 2025, etc.
• Go “dark” Feb 1. Meaning, don't seek input outside of yourself to the best of your ability; don't look externally for affirmation or information; seek to reduce the noise (information and input) in whatever way feels right for you. (Though if your boss or partner needs to give you some feedback…I highly recommend you don't throw a hand in their face and say sorry, it's Quiet February…).
• Find some “closet time.” See if you can create similar conditions to Glennon and her dark, enlightening closet and find some quiet to listen in for your own voice. For me, movement is where I am the best version of myself. So, my daily walks where I'd normally be listening to music or a podcast will be my “closet" time. Rather than zoning out or doing research/learning, respectively, I'm going to use that time to listen to my own thoughts and notice where they take me. (What's your “closet”? Meditation? A closed office door? A massage or pamper time? A comfy chair in your house? A commute? A park bench near your office? Whatever you choose, just protect and honor the time).

I guess this isn't a challenge, really; it's more like an un-challenge in the sense that I'm asking you to do less, not more, with your time and energy. I'm asking you to find the quiet and notice what - or who - emerges.

Final thoughts.

Make no mistake - if you're in for Quiet February, this could be uncomfortable.

If you don't know how to sit with your own thoughts, buckle up. Intuition - your own voice - is powerful. More powerful than all of the research and data and feedback and external motivation you could ever collect. But you have to be willing to listen for it. Which means you have to be willing to find the time to sit in the quiet.

Want to join me? Let's see if we can do it. I'm honestly not sure if I can! But, I'm willing to try. Hope you join me. I'd love to hear how you do!

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