For the past few years, I’ve been fully immersed in the world of personal development and self-improvement. Podcasts on business, spirituality, and personal development were my daily soundtrack. My Audible and Spotify were filled with mindset books, personal development, business, and spiritual books. My walks became learning sessions. Even while folding laundry, running errands, cleaning the house, or making dinner, I had earbuds in, consuming content from coaches, spiritual teachers, wellness leaders, and entrepreneurs.
But a few months ago, something shifted. I felt extremely overstimulated, scattered, and exhausted. Not from life itself, but from the constant intake. The noise of advice, to-do lists, productivity hacks, and “shoulds” had become deafening.
Two full weeks of no personal development or self-help podcasts. No business audiobooks. No spiritual lectures. No podcasts at all.
Instead, I let myself just be. I leaned into music or silence while I worked. I walked in silence or did walking meditations. I didn’t multitask during mundane tasks, I let them be mundane. And here’s what I learned.
1. Silence Is Not Empty. It’s Full of Answers
At first, silence felt uncomfortable. My brain searched for something to fill it. But after a few days, that discomfort softened into peace. Thoughts I hadn’t noticed bubbled up. Insights that no podcast had ever given me appeared in the stillness.
Silence became a sacred space, a space where my own voice finally had room to speak.
2. Music Reconnects You to Your Soul
I had forgotten how healing music could be. Not motivational soundtracks or productivity playlists, but real music, the kind that makes you feel something. The songs I used to love. The nostalgic ones.
Music reminded me that inspiration doesn’t always come from learning, it comes from feeling.
3. There’s a Fine Line Between Growth and Overconsumption
I’m a huge advocate for growth. But when you’re constantly listening to advice, consuming strategies, and trying to optimize every corner of your life, you stop trusting yourself.
I realized I wasn’t applying half of what I was consuming. I was using personal development as a buffer, filling my time instead of feeling my life.
4. Walking Meditation Slows You Down in the Best Way
I’ve been creating my own walking meditations for the past 3 years and I love them.
I actually notice the outside landscapes and scenery. My nervous system calmed. My thoughts untangled. I started to notice things again, how the light filtered through the trees, the rhythm of my steps, the way my body moved. Presence returned.
5. Your Inner Wisdom is Louder Than Any Podcast. If You Let It Speak
We live in a time of endless advice from everyone and anyone with a platform. Everyone has a strategy, a system, or a framework to follow. But sometimes, what you need most is your own intuition.
Those two weeks reminded me that my body, my mind, and my soul already know what I need. I just had to create space to listen.
6. Pausing Doesn’t Mean You’re Falling Behind
A part of me feared I would lose momentum if I stopped “feeding my mind.” However, I got more clarity, I moved with more intention, I had creative ideas I wouldn’t have accessed in the noise. Sometimes a pause is the exact thing that propels you forward.
If you’ve been feeling tired, uninspired, or disconnected, even from the things you normally love, I invite you to try this. Take a break from the endless intake. Give your brain space. Let music move you. Let silence hold you. Let walks be simple.
You might be surprised by what you remember when you stop trying to constantly learn something new.
Because sometimes the most powerful transformation happens, not in the doing, but in the being. And maybe you will realize you don’t need to always be “fixing yourself.”
Nikki Lanigan
Nikki Lanigan is a yoga, HIIT, and Barre instructor, she is also a Holistic Health Coach through Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Nikki is trained in Yoga Shred, Yoga Psychology, meditation, chakra balancing, and EFT/Tapping. She has done trainings with Sadie Nardini and Ashley Turner. She got her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2017 at the Carrie Treister School Of Yoga. Nikki takes a holistic view of health, helping her students and clients reach a place of self-love not just through movement, but with mindset and lifestyle guidance as well. Nikki is also show prep writer for The McVay Media Show Prep and host of the podcast Fit, Fun, and Frazzled. Connect with Nikki on Instagram. www.instagram.com/nikkilanigan.yogaandwellness www.instagram.com/fitfunandfrazzledpodcast
