How to Turn Off the Hidden Noise in Your Mind

5 ways to quickly enjoy a quiet mind.

In an earlier article, I wrote about getting rid of things that no longer serve you. In that story, we looked at the ‘“stuff” that invades our home, office or other parts of our environment. I also talked about the underlying stress that bubbles to the surface when we make changes by eliminating the junk in our lives.

We perceive the stuff that we shuffle from one pile to the next as an old friend; it’s been hanging out with us a long time. The problem with that thinking is that, if it doesn’t add to your life, it may not be a friend. It could be an old, unhelpful acquaintance.

You know… like the co-worker that invades your space and stands over your shoulder to read your screen without an invitation. Or perhaps the person who corners you, monopolizes your time, dumps their woes on you. Then, they flutter away like a free bird.

Neither of those instances benefit you.

Given the complexities of our world, it’s likely that you might have other “Frustrators” that slowly and consistently vacuum parts of your life away. Look at the behavioral tendencies of people around us; sometimes it looks like we should expect disruption.

We should not honor the expectations of a disruptor.

We are all living, feeling, thinking human beings. If someone or something invades your peace, you might feel used, disrespected or just plain frustrated. As you mull over the way those situations make you feel, your thoughts churn an unhelpful mental loop. I’m talking about the inner dialogue that keeps talking… and talking… and talking.

As the mental loop spins, it amplifies how you feel. Rather than have peace to consider a response, it swells to a bursting point of reaction. That’s not always healthy.

Think about it this way. When bad things happen at your home, you need a first responder — not a first reactor. Peace allows a cogent response, disruptive noise causes reaction.

The same is true with mental noise and there are ways to declutter your mind to serve you and offer a sense of peace. Here are some tools to calm the chatter:

Meditation

I’m not talking about planting yourself on a mountaintop and humming at nature. Although that might be a pleasant break if you’re stuck in a noisy city. Even if you allow yourself five minutes a day as a start, that’s five minutes of peace you are giving yourself permission to enjoy. When meditating, here are just a couple easy methods to clear your mind:

Focus on abdominal breathing

Take a slow breath in through your nose while pressing your stomach out, hold it just a few seconds, then slowly breathe out through your mouth while pulling your stomach in. This process helps build your immune system, and it releases stress.

For more info about the health and wellness benefits of the abdominal breath, CLICK HERE.

I’ve written an article that describes why this works to ease stress in a matter of seconds. Plus, you can get a free bookmark as a reminder to be good to yourself.

🎶 Calm your life with gentle music

When the world is noisy or sometimes emotionally charged by those around you, it’s a good time to refocus your mind on something calm. With today’s smartphone technology, there are plenty of options with meditation apps or streaming music. A go-to resource that I frequently use is the “Insight Timer” app. There are literally thousands of meditation audios and courses with apps for smartphones, iPad or from the website with a computer. Insight Timer has a paid version, but I’ve found the free option works just fine.

Note: There no affiliate links in this article, just free resources.

For me personally, I find a quiet place EVERY DAY and plug in the ear buds, set a time alarm and just allow my mind to be restful and quiet. If there’s not a quiet place, I go to my car, put the seat back, place a pillow behind my neck, and allow myself this important time.

Whatever your method of allowing yourself mental rest, be sure you take the time each day. If you don’t set good boundaries for yourself, someone else will set them for you. When you allow this time, you clear out the noise that impedes your ability to focus on your life goals.

Turn the mental noise of worry into gratefulness

In an earlier article, I discussed ways to create hope when life seems uncertain. If you’ve taken a few moments for meditation, it’s often a good time to capture your thoughts in a journal. This is particularly true when meditating to calm worry. During meditation, it’s common to gain new perspectives of good things, and good people. Write down 3 to 5 things or people that add to your life.

If you’ve never written in a gratitude journal before, it’s normal to make a quick list and call it done. I did that myself when I started.

I wrote: “I’m grateful because I can see, hear and walk.” Then, I thought, “Why am I doing this? What is it doing for me?” I got little benefit because I put little effort into it.

Take it further. Expand on the things you wrote down.

How do those things contribute to your life? For instance, you might not be thrilled with your job, but grateful that you have one. Using that example, you write, “I’m grateful for my job”. What does that do for you? How about something like this:

“I’m grateful for my job because…

• It allows me to support my family or myself (if single).
• It allows me to pay for my car, house, apartment, condo, etc.
• It offers me an opportunity for health insurance for my family.
• I can pay for _____________.

It’s taken me years to get onboard with this, but now I know it as a truth. It’s all about energy. I used to think this was a bit too “New-Age” for me. Working through my own life challenges and those of my clients, I now understand.

Worry, and the mental noise that powers anger, sadness, disappointment and fear is a negative energy. Gratefulness is an extremely positive energy source.

When faced with the negative, we have an opportunity to convert it to the positive. I often hear people tell me how it won’t work for them. Yet, they’ve not put in the effort to try. They’ve become self-satisfied being the victim of themselves, and like the person I mentioned earlier, dumps their woes on others.

I remember when I was a kid, I’d play atop a hill in a large avocado orchard. I looked at the avocados and determined they were weird, therefore I didn’t like them.

The problem with that logic is I never tried one and I made a judgement.

Many years later, I discovered I like them. I missed years of enjoyment because of my stubborn attitude. The same is true for people that dismiss the value of gratitude because they choose not to be grateful.

I realize this sounds harsh but as a therapist, I’ve helped abuse victims regain their lives. On the coaching side, I’ve seen clients reach goals they didn’t think possible. I deal in the world of reality and that’s what my clients need. I know they are capable of reaching successes and that’s how we get there.

People can choose life as the energizer bunny… or the sad sloth. They just need to pick one.

⚡️An electronic-free vacation

I admit, this is tough. We are in a “connected” society with smartphones, iPads, laptops, fitness trackers, social media, 24x7 opinion broadcasts on television, radio, and streaming media. Advertisers track your every thought, and smart homes opened doors for hackers to track you.

In our world, if we have questions on a subject, we Google it. If a weather, terror, crime or international event occurs, we rush to the news and see the social media consensus.

Unless we dedicate time for ourselves with self care and process our own observations, we end up filling our minds with the noise of others. That’s not intelligently living or leading our lives, that’s following a herd mentality that doesn’t allow us to plan our lives, goals or make smart decisions.

It’s like trying to read while heavy metal music is blasting in the background. Just today at the gym, I was in the middle of a set when a trainer came by to talk with me. I know she meant well, but in the middle of a set of 12-reps, I lost track of where I was.

Our ability to focus depends on taking time to turn off the noise.

👎 I failed

I set aside a single day without electronic inputs. I was unsuccessful three times before I made it through a full day. The first two days I kept telling myself I needed to check my email.

Why? Will it fall off the server if I don’t get to it tomorrow? No.

The third time, someone mentioned a national event, and I went online to see what happened. Do you know what? It wasn’t anything I could have done anything about anyway.

It made me look at my life closer and realized I was much more dependent on other people’s noise than to think for myself and incorporate self care.

👍 I succeeded

By the fourth time, I got through a 24-hour period of disconnection.

• I enjoyed two sessions of meditation.
• Took a walk.
• Cut my grass.
• Exercised in my basement gym away from television.
• Wrote with a pen and steno pad.
• I sat on the swing and watched the herd of deer in my yard. And… I slept better than most nights.

The next morning, I woke and realized:

I’m still alive and didn’t go through electronic withdrawals.

I was rested and less stressed than other days. I began incorporating electronic-free days into my schedule, starting with one-day a month, then once every two weeks. I think it’s likely I’ll be at one-day a week soon.

Technology is a useful resource that can add to our lives. If we don’t manage it, it manages us. We are not living at our own full potential. I was more dependent on the mental noise than I thought.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we looked at a few ways that people and things clutter our minds with noise and remove a sense of peace. Through meditation, abdominal breathing, music and gratefulness, we can take proactive steps that benefit our existence.

By taking time away from the constant data flow that bombards our thoughts, we invite peaceful moments. How many of those do we have each year anyway?

If a person reads this article and applies even one tidbit toward their self care, they achieve a win.

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⭐️ About Anthony M. Davis

Anthony M. Davis is a Leadership, Success & Stress Coach, Board Certified Therapist, and Top-100 International Travel Photographer. His free book, “Keys to Your Success” is available now.