One of the most powerful moments in last weekend's rally against gun violence in Washington was the six-minute silence that was part of Emma Gonzalez's speech.

Her silence was unexpected. 

Her silence was loud. 

Her silence was powerful. 

What her silence did was send a ripple of emotion throughout our country. Time slowed down. We were able to think, reflect, feel. Her silence united us in a common cause. 

Silence can indeed be louder than words. If you are one of those who has experienced being "ghosted" by someone,  you know how painful silence can be. This is an ineffective use of silence that ultimately hurts people. It's the dark side of silence. 

Silence can be a powerful tool when used intentionally, for good. But for most of us, silence is a source of anxiety. 

In our age of addiction to our devices and other sources fighting for our constant attention, silence has become a source of discomfort for many. 

Do you wonder if you have difficulty with silence? Take this simple test. 

Close your eyes and sit for twenty minutes without doing a thing. 

Then watch what happens. 

Notice how you feel. Notice what you think. Notice what comes up for you. Are you feeling uneasy? Is it hard to escape the chatter in your mind? 

For some, silence can feel like torture. 

That's because silence forces us to look at the things we like to avoid. 

The noise outside us can cause us problems, but the louder noise that is harder to quiet is the noise inside us. The constant thoughts that begin from the moment we wake up until we fall asleep. The constant chatter and nonsense we allow to affect our well being. We spend so much time worrying about the future that we forget to be present and enjoy our life to its fullest. 

Our inner noise takes us away from noticing the beauty of what life has to offer. Amidst the bad news we get exposed to every day and the negative thoughts and worries that consume our head, it's easy for us to fall into a trap of anxiety, depression, and stress.

I often invite my clients to begin our coaching sessions with a few moments of silence so we can enter a space of reflection and tune our energy to each other like musicians in an orchestra who tune their instruments with each other to create a beautiful harmony. The silence opens up space for what really matters to rise to the surface. 

Silence also opens a space for new ideas. In a recent HBR article, David Rock and Josh Davis explain that “aha moments that spark brilliant, unexpected solutions tend to crop up when our minds are quiet.” Often when I feel stuck working on a project or have a problem I need to solve, taking a silent walk in nature helps me clear my head and bring up new ideas or solutions. 

Quieting our minds (aka meditation) is one of the most effective practices we can engage in for achieving a well-balanced life. As creative people, as leaders, we must realize that unless we allow silence to exist in our daily life, the price we pay can result in feeling burnt out and out of balance. 

The reality of our lives is that distractions aren't going to go away anytime soon. We depend on our smartphones and other devices for our work and entertainment. It's up to us to create the self-discipline around creating silence and choose to step away from the noise in a conscious way. 

Silence slows us down to be able to reflect on what really matters. 

Thank you, Emma Gomez, for reminding us what we can gain by allowing silence to be a trusted friend.