We live in a world that’s growing louder and faster every day. Notifications scream for our attention, expectations multiply, and everyone around us seems to be constantly doing something that we are not. Now, to all this noise, we’ve added the constant hum about AI; this new magic solution that’s promised to simplify our lives, make us extremely more productive, and ease our burdens (not to mention disrupt many jobs: but that’s not for this post). Ironically, in trying to master yet another tool designed to simplify and augment our lives at the same time, we often end up even busier and more overwhelmed.

We’ve collectively bought into a subtle yet dangerous myth: the belief that the antidote to overwhelm is to do even more: to push harder, multitask better, and squeeze productivity into every second. But what if this is exactly the opposite of what we truly need?

A few days ago, I caught myself in a familiar spiral. Between endless tasks, meetings, emails, kids, school events, a cold, and life’s relentless pace, I could barely hear myself think. My first instinct, like many, was to add another task; something supposedly calming like scheduling yoga, or a gym session, reading productivity hacks, squeezing in a podcast while driving, or even exploring how AI tools could help me with my workflow. Yet, in doing so, I realized I was only contributing to the noise, adding another layer of complexity rather than clarity. Don’t get me wrong, I did “feel” productive: but I also started forgetting things, people’s names, feeling out of energy, feeling like I am not myself, and worst of all despite all of that, feeling like I am not doing enough.

Then, almost accidentally, I found myself doing the simplest thing imaginable: NOTHING. My youngest daughter woke me up sneaking in to sleep in our bed just like most nights. Only this time, I couldn’t sleep again. Usually I put some kind of white noise to put me back to sleep. This time, I just embraced not sleeping and soon I could see the first signs of sunrise coming up. I got out of bed, went to sit next to the window waiting for sunrise on the Dubai Skyline. There was just silence and sitting still, no screens, no tasks, no deliberate “productivity.” It felt strange and uncomfortable at first, almost counterintuitive. Yet, within minutes, something remarkable happened. My mind began to clear. The incessant buzz (I felt in my mind) faded away, replaced by a calm clarity I’d forgotten existed.

Quieting down isn’t easy. It’s counterintuitive. It requires conscious effort and practice, much like learning any new skill. You must constantly resist the urge to grab your phone, fill the silence with background noise, or find some minor chore around the house. It’s like retraining your mind and body to appreciate stillness, to find comfort in doing less rather than more.

Yet, the moment you embrace silence, even briefly, something remarkable happens. You gain clarity. You reconnect with yourself. You realize that peace was never about doing more: it was always about finding the courage to do less.

We’ve convinced ourselves that life demands constant action. But perhaps the true way to cope is to embrace stillness. Maybe the answer to a noisy world isn’t shouting louder or leaning harder on technology and AI but simply learning to listen better, primarily, to ourselves.

So tell me: How about you? Do you agree? Do you feel differently ? Are you ready to do the uncomfortable work of quieting down?

I dare you 🙂

Michael