Lately, work has been chaos in motion. Nonstop calls, agent training, listings, clients, marketing campaigns, content creation. I haven’t taken a full day off in what feels like months. And honestly, I love it. I’m wired for forward motion. But at some point, you realize: when every hour is filled, there’s no room to think.
That’s not just a productivity issue, that’s a leadership problem.
A few months back, I picked up two books that hit me harder than expected: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter, and The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. One challenges you to chase discomfort on purpose. The other reminds you that the costliest mistakes in business come from thinking too little, not doing too little.
Both point to the same truth: most of us are so busy doing that we’ve forgotten how to just be. To think. To process. To be alone with our own thoughts.
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The Misogi That Humbled Me
After reading The Comfort Crisis, I decided to take on a mini Misogi — an intentionally difficult physical challenge with two rules:
- There's a 50% chance of failure.
- You won't die doing it.
My target? Run 26 miles in total silence. No music. No podcasts. No pacing app in my ear. Just me, the sound of my feet, and my thoughts — starting from home down to Comerica Park and then across the Belle Isle loop.
I made it 18 miles. The last 3? I cracked and turned on music.
I could give you all the reasons: it was 90 degrees, I didn’t hydrate well, I rolled my ankle last week, I was out too late the night before. But that’s all noise. Those were choices I made. The bottom line is, I didn’t finish what I set out to do.
And yet — it was one of the best experiences I’ve had all year.
Why Silence Feels So Foreign
Two hours alone with your own thoughts is not normal anymore. Not in 2025. From the moment we wake up to the moment we crash, our brains are bombarded — notifications, emails, Slack, news alerts, social scrolls, reels, shorts, podcasts. Even our rest time is filled with other people’s voices.
We’ve lost the skill of solitude. But solitude is where your best thinking lives.
That long run — even though I technically “failed” — gave me more insight than most business planning sessions. It gave me clarity on things I’ve been spinning in circles about. It gave me perspective on problems I’d been forcing. It even surfaced some personal stuff I hadn’t taken time to confront — people I’ve grown distant from, conversations I’ve been avoiding, and a reminder that no amount of professional success makes up for personal disconnect.
Thinking Time Isn’t Optional
In The Road Less Stupid, Cunningham calls it “Thinking Time.” He suggests that the smartest business leaders schedule it like a meeting — and guard it just as fiercely.
I used to approach it like that: pick a business problem, build a question around it, and use the time to think through the answer. I still do that sometimes. But lately, I’ve been leaning into a different form — purposeful silence without an agenda.
It’s become my favorite hour of the week: a solo run or lift, early Monday morning, in complete silence. No input. No stimulation. Just open space.
And the craziest thing is, that lack of purpose has made it more purposeful than ever. With no bumper lanes, my mind wanders in ways that lead to better insights — things I never would’ve planned to think about.
Clarity helps you spot myths and move smart. These 8 common misconceptions are a must-read for any local seller.
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Why This Matters in Business
As leaders, we’re supposed to have answers. We’re expected to make fast decisions, spot opportunities, motivate teams, and solve problems on demand. But if we’re not carving out time to think, we’re just reacting. We’re operating on fumes and instinct instead of strategy and clarity.
The margin to think isn’t a luxury — it’s a competitive advantage.
If you're feeling stretched thin, foggy, or like you're putting out more fires than you’re lighting, try this: carve out one hour this week. No music. No screen. Just you and your thoughts. Go for a walk, a run, a drive, or sit in the backyard with a notebook.
When you slow down and think through your next move, you avoid the chaos, and that applies to real estate too. If you’re selling, here’s a great place to start.
Let your mind breathe. See what it brings up.
You might not get 18 miles. But I promise, you’ll go further than you think.
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