Sometimes The Most Powerful Thing I Do Is NothingI have a challenge for you. Do nothing for a minute. How about five? Could you make it to fifteen? Turns out doing nothing at all is harder than it
April 2025 Newsletter - Brain Space
Dated: April 24 2025
Views: 388
I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m really good at winning arguments. I mean, I almost never lose. I have this great ability to come up with the perfect, articulate response that clearly lays out how my side is obviously the right side. Unfortunately, quite often, that response doesn’t occur to me until I’m in the shower the day after the argument has ended. It’s a cliche, but it’s true - we often get our best ideas in the shower. Why is that?
From the moment we wake up in the morning until our heads hit the pillow at night, we are bombarded with information. It’s pretty common for me to grab my phone while I’m still lying in bed in the morning, ostensibly because I want to check for messages from my kids, but let’s be honest - I pretty quickly slip into social media and email and start thinking about my day. From there, it’s a non-stop barrage: Work, advertisements, podcasts, streaming shows, video games… We’re never given the opportunity to be bored, but we also never allow our brains the space to process on their own. We hit them with constant stimulation but don’t give them room to work with all of those inputs.
That is, until you step into the shower. The shower is one of the rare places in life where there are no phones, no screens, and no advertisements. It’s just you, alone with your thoughts, while the ambient background sound of falling water soothes your mind and allows you to give energy toward free thinking. And then BOOM! A great idea magically pops into your head. Except it’s not magic, you just finally gave yourself some time to think without being distracted.
Our brains need more room to breathe. A few years ago, I started using the app Healthy Minds. I think this app is fantastic. It guides you through the neuroscience behind offering your brain some room to be left alone and gives you guidance on how to implement that time into your day. Some people call it meditation; I like to think of it as free brain space. I’ve been doing this toward the beginning of my day almost every day for years, and it has been wonderful. I’m much better at staying focused, have more control over my emotions, and I’m better able to regulate and observe my thoughts.
More recently, I started adding some downtime to the end of my day as well. Instead of holding a rectangular flashlight nine inches from my face, beaming all of the known information of the universe (and some silly memes too) directly into my eyeballs and then wondering why my brain feels busy when I lay down to go to sleep, I’ve begun putting it on Do Not Disturb starting about a half an hour before I lay down. I’ll chill with some light music and wind down before bed. It has been amazing to see my brain utilize that time in the same way as the shower - I’m coming up with great ideas, processing my day, and it’s leading me to more clarity. An added benefit is that I fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.
I encourage you to give it a shot. Find a way to let your mind have room to do some processing on its own without constant stimulation. I really like the Healthy Minds app, but a walk without your phone, sitting still without any screens nearby, or just an extra-long shower could do the trick. Who knows what kind of brilliant ideas might come to mind!
Clint Kuipers
Clint Kuipers specializes in complex and emotionally significant real estate transitions in the Twin Cities, including divorce, estate sales, downsizing, and buying and selling at the same time. With ....
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