Your Inner Voice and the Value of Silence

Despite my interest in certain genres of music throughout my life, I’ve slowly realized that I don’t really like listening to music much. I do listen to it in the car, but generally, I prefer music in social contexts, enjoying some beats with my friends, whether we’re in my living room or at a 25,000 people rave. But I don’t really listen to it when I work or when I relax.

Podcasts, on the other hand – I do love podcasts, whether I’m walking my dog, doing some exercises, or cleaning the dishes. Without them, most of those menial tasks feel empty as if I’m just wasting my time when I could learn something. I subscribe to shows covering technology, my hobbies, such as racing and F1, and reviews of all kinds of brand-new media content ranging from TV series to video games.

But recently I’ve started feeling that constantly putting on AirPods and pumping spoken words into my ears might be too much. First, there’s nothing wrong with being bored and enjoying the silence for a bit. But most importantly, it feels like both music and podcasts tune off my inner voice, that intra-cranial conversation people have where we get ideas and inspiration. I can recount so many times when I was working on a particular problem, couldn’t crack it at the desk but suddenly realized the mistakes I made while simply walking on the street.

Social media might add to that. It’s just something so antagonistic to meditation and active thinking. Nothing wrong with being connected with your friends and people you’re interested in. But it’s also the most affordable and attainable dopamine you can get. Blindly scrolling through a seemingly endless feed doesn’t mean you stop thinking. Yet I do think it blocks your inner dialogue from going into more interesting places.