Weathering the Storm + Radical Acts of Stillness

In a world that screams go, go, go, what if the most productive thing you could do is nothing at all?

We celebrate hustle. We worship productivity. We fill every moment with noise, notifications, and the next thing on the list. But what happens when you're climbing the mountain toward a life beyond your default and you realize you haven't looked at the map in months? Or checked the fuel gauge? Or noticed you're about to drive off a cliff?

In this episode of Beyond Your Default, George and Liz dig into something counterintuitive: the power of stillness. Not laziness. Not avoidance. Radical, purposeful stillness as a tool for clarity, growth, and better decisions.

The Hospital Bed That Changed Everything

George tells a story he's never shared in full before. Early in his career, he was laser focused on becoming great. Hustling hard. Flying around the world speaking. Training. Building. Then he put down a $12,000 deposit on a workshop event.

Nobody signed up.

Shortly after, he found himself in a closet, sweating profusely, blood pressure through the roof. His daughter walked in and said, "Daddy, I don't want you to die."

As EMS wheeled him out to the ambulance, George looked back at his wife and said: "I don't have time for this. I've got a meeting in 10 minutes."

She let him sit in the hospital for three and a half days. No laptop. No phone. Just George and his thoughts.

"When you have three and a half days to sit in a hospital and do nothing, and not be able to be in your natural environment, and literally have a detox of everything that you thought was important in life? That's a whole different level of being still. That's the ability to look at your life and say, what the freak am I doing?"

That forced stillness became one of the most catalytic moments of his life. Out of it came clarity. Direction. The seeds of everything he's building now.

Standing in the Rain on Saint Kitts

Years later, George found himself on a mountain in Saint Kitts during a cruise excursion. The group was overlooking a valley when it started to rain. Everyone scrambled for cover.

George walked the other direction.

He stepped off the deck, stood in the grass, opened his arms, and looked up at the sky. He let the rain fall on him while he thought about the life that had gotten him to that moment. His family. His mom. His stepdad. The journey.

"It was just, I felt that this is what I wanted and should do. I listened, and I went and did it. That was the moment. That was the silence. That was the rest. That was the refuel on the mountain of Saint Kitts in a tropical jungle, rain falling down, and enjoying every freaking moment of it."

Stillness doesn't have to be 30 minutes of meditation every morning. Sometimes it's 30 seconds of choosing presence over panic.

Sometimes the Universe Smashes the Brakes for You

Here's the uncomfortable truth: if you ignore the warning signs long enough, life will eventually force the stillness you've been avoiding.

Liz learned this lesson last year. After her divorce, she made a deliberate choice: no permanent decisions. No long term leases. No big commitments. Just day to day movement while she focused on healing, therapy, and learning to trust her own judgment again.

It bothered a lot of people. Where are you going to live? What's your plan? Why is all your stuff still in storage?

She didn't have answers. She wasn't supposed to yet.

Then something interesting happened. When she finally felt ready to make a decision about where to live, she started trying to get an apartment in Connecticut. Three times in a row, she put down deposits only to get calls saying the apartment was already rented. Complexes had nothing available. The one place that did have something wanted double the price.

"I'm starting to get frustrated, and then finally, I went: you're Truman."

Like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show, where every path out of town mysteriously closes. Traffic jams. Fires. Accidents. When everything is blocking your way at once, sometimes it's a sign you're not supposed to go that direction.

She waited. And on New Year's Day, through an organic conversation she couldn't have planned, she received three different opportunities that made her realize: it was time to go home. The one decision she never thought she'd make.

"Because I waited and listened to my intuition, I could have forced myself into a lease somewhere. But because I stuck to it, I ended up surprising myself."

The Difference Between Stillness and Stalling

Purposeful stillness is proactive. It enhances mental clarity, supports emotional wellbeing, and leads to better decisions.

Immobilized passivity is reactive. It leads to negative outcomes and hinders personal growth.

How do you know which one you're in?

Purposeful stillness is intentional. You're making a conscious choice to pause. You're reflecting, processing, gaining clarity. And it leads to action. The insights you gather during stillness inform what you do next.

If you're not feeling those things, if the stillness is just avoidance wearing a different outfit, you might be stuck in the trap of immobilized passivity.

George puts it plainly: "Being still is a setup for the future come up based on what we're doing or thinking about during that downtime."

When Stillness Is the Right Choice

You're feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Stillness provides a much needed break. It lets you step back, clear your mind, and reduce the anxiety knocking at your door.

You're facing a major decision. When you're conflicted or uncertain, stillness helps quiet the noise of external opinions and internal conflict. George made the decision to start his business while sitting on a cruise ship for half a day, staring at the ocean with a notepad.

You're physically or emotionally exhausted. Rest helps you recharge. And if you're emotionally depleted, you're not making good decisions anyway.

Before reacting in conflict. Count to ten. Count to twenty. Stillness prevents escalation and leads to more thoughtful responses than whatever you were about to say in the heat of the moment.

You're on a personal growth journey. Regular stillness lets you assess your progress, realign your goals, and acknowledge the changes needed for your life.

You feel disconnected. From yourself, your environment, others. Stillness can foster a more profound sense of connection and presence.

It's part of your spiritual practice. For those engaging in spiritual practices, stillness is often essential for deepening the journey. Praying. Listening. Mindfulness. Awareness.

When It's Time to Move Again

Stillness should be temporary and purposeful. At some point, you have to transition back to action.

Clarity emerges. Move on it.

You feel recharged. Get back on the road.

You get an intuitive nudge. Listen to it.

Responsibility calls. Life keeps going. Meet it where it is.

You recognize the rhythm. Life is a balance of action and inaction. When you're tuned into that flow, the transition back to action feels natural.

"All of this, by the way, being still should lead to something. Something known, something being done."

You Have to Be Your Own Safe Space

Here's the thing about stillness that nobody talks about: it can be terrifying.

Liz shares that for years, she couldn't sit still because every time she did, her thoughts overwhelmed her. Her intuition had been screaming at her that something was very wrong in her life, but she kept running. Kept being productive. Kept avoiding the quiet.

"I didn't know how to sit still because every time I sat still and alone with my thoughts, I was effing terrified. That was how I ended up building a life that I thought was perfect on paper but was actually a prison."

If you can't be alone with your own thoughts, that's not a reason to avoid stillness. That's exactly why you need it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you are not able to be your own safe space, then you need radical moments of stillness and silence. Get the broom out. Get the mop out. Call freaking Ghostbusters. Whatever you gotta do."

"There's more to life than increasing its speed." — Gandhi

"In the stillness, there was reflection. Out of that stillness, there was an understanding. Out of that stillness, there was a change."

"You don't always have to go go go."

Questions to Sit With

1. When was the last time you chose stillness before life forced it on you?
2. What's your intuition been trying to tell you that you've been too busy to hear?
3. Are you able to be your own safe space? If not, what would it take to get there?

Listen to the full episode to hear George and Liz unpack their personal experiences with radical stillness, the signals that tell you when to pause versus when to move, and why the most productive thing you can do might be nothing at all.