#025 Stillness is the Standard

“Only in the quiet do we hear what truly matters.” — Rey Mungai

Some of you may already know that I’m highly methodical with my daily tasks, using my reminders app religiously to bring order to the often chaotic rhythm of my life. In the beginning, it felt empowering; every task was logged, and nothing was forgotten. But slowly, that same structure became cluttered. I started relying on reminders for even the smallest things, and ironically, the system meant to clear the noise began to create more of it. My mornings and evenings turned into sessions of mindlessly checking off endless lists instead of moving with intention.

After some reflection, I realized I needed to scale back. I decided to filter out the noise and focus only on what truly mattered. This past week, I’ve been experimenting with that stripped-down approach, and honestly, it’s been incredible. There’s a lightness in doing less but doing it with more presence.

In a world that constantly demands our attention, stillness becomes both rebellion and refuge. For the African creative and entrepreneur, stillness is not a passive state but an active standard. One that helps us choose what truly matters and act from clarity rather than chaos.

The Noise Never Stops — Unless You Do

"The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today."

Seneca

Lately, my days have felt like a relentless stream of overlapping responsibilities. Between leading a growing design team, onboarding new talent, and guiding high-impact projects that demand both precision and creativity. At the same time, I’m balancing multiple other business relationships, each with its own pace, expectations, and challenges.

Parallel to that, my partner and I are rebuilding a product we’ve invested years into by refining its design, rethinking the go-to-market strategy, and reopening the door to critical funding conversations. Beneath all this, I carry the emotional weight of witnessing Kenya’s youth rise in protest, demanding better governance. As an Africapitalist and someone who believes deeply in the power of creativity, technology, and design to shape new futures, it’s a movement that resonates deeply.

There are days it feels like everything needs my attention at once. But the real challenge isn’t in doing it all, it’s in knowing when to pause and protect my peace.

The noise is everywhere: notifications, delays, multiple meetings, WhatsApp pings, a Twitter timeline flooded with protest footage and public commentary. Even in the absence of sound, the mind continues its sprint.

But I’ve learned that silence doesn’t just happen, it must be chosen. I find it in the moments I say no to one more task. In the space between a message received and a response given. In the quiet confidence that I’m not responsible for fixing everything, everywhere, all the time.

Stillness is not something life hands you. It’s something you stake a claim to. And in that claiming, you begin to reclaim yourself.

Stillness as a Competitive Edge

“Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.”

Marcus Aurelius

Stillness has quietly become one of the sharpest tools in my creative and entrepreneurial arsenal. When you’re building something ambitious—like I am with the goal of building a $10B African company—it’s easy to get pulled in a thousand directions. The pressure doesn’t always come from the outside. In my case, it’s mostly internal. I’ve never been one to bow to trends or peer expectations, and that inner independence has allowed me to stay grounded, focused, and methodical.

But clarity doesn’t arrive through chaos. It requires stepping away from the noise—whether that’s the noise of well-meaning friends, external projections, or even my racing mind. I’ve learned to shut the door gently on outside opinions and retreat inward. In that quiet space, I lay out priorities, examine the root of my desires, and map the next move from a place of calm, not comparison. Stillness, in that sense, becomes a planning room for the future. Naval Ravikant once said that leverage comes from clarity, and clarity comes from peace. He’s right.

That said, solitude can be deceptive, too. I’ve had to be cautious of my own biases—of mistaking silence for truth. Stoic reflection, along with therapy, has taught me to sift through the feedback I receive and the thoughts I generate. Not all advice deserves my attention, and not all inner convictions are rooted in wisdom. The key is to pause, assess, and proceed from a place of alignment. Stillness isn’t just a pause—it’s a filter.

Stillness in the Mess: Training a Puppy, Taming Myself

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

Epictetus

I recently got a puppy, Trey. And it might be the stoic in me, but he has also taught me quite a lot about the importance of being still and calm. Raising a puppy has been one of the most unexpected mirrors for my inner world. Trey is young and full of joy, but also full of accidents. He’s not yet potty trained, and when you’re working from home with back-to-back meetings and deadlines, finding a puddle on your floor or as you wait for the lift to take him outside for a potty break can instantly shatter your sense of calm.

There were days I’d find myself agitated and not because of the mess itself, but because it felt like a disruption to my rhythm. But then I realized: He’s not doing this to annoy me. He’s learning. And in that moment, so was I.

Potty training a puppy isn’t just about teaching them; it’s about training yourself in patience, presence, and perspective. I’ve had to remind myself that calm repetition teaches more than punishment ever could. That growth—whether in dogs or humans—requires grace.

In those moments when I resist the urge to react and instead kneel, clean up, and guide him outside. I’m not just raising a dog. I’m disciplining my nature.

4. Practicing the Standard

“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.”

Epictetus

Stillness isn’t a spontaneous gift from the universe. It’s a standard you must choose, a rhythm you must cultivate. We live in a world that increasingly idolizes hustle and distraction, but it requires effort to slow down, to protect moments of peace like sacred rituals. And yet, these small pockets of intentional presence are where clarity, meaning, and true productivity live.

Over the years, I’ve built rituals that anchor me even as I rebuild consistency in the midst of growing responsibilities and new phases of life. I start most mornings with yoga. Nothing complex, just breath and movement, a way of reminding my body and mind that I am here, now. On other days, I’m in the gym, lifting not just weights but mental fog. These physical routines aren’t about aesthetics; they’re about discipline and grounding.

Then there’s fatherhood. I try as much as possible to make time to speak to my son every day when he’s at his mom’s house and to be fully present when he’s with me. Those are not just fatherly duties; they’re moments that recalibrate what truly matters. Similarly, walking Trey, our puppy, at least twice a day, reminds me that even in the small, often messy tasks, there’s an invitation to pause. To breathe. To observe.

I’ve become more intentional with my attention. That means taking breaks away from my phone during the workday, no longer carrying my laptop everywhere like a badge of productivity, and being deliberately offline when I’m with people I love. I’ve learned that presence is a form of generosity—and stillness, its foundation.

Other practices, like catching up on reading, diving deeper into Stoic texts, exploring Game Theory through a Yale course, or even making music just for myself, help me reconnect with the parts of me that don’t need an audience or a paycheck. And therapy, along with weekly check-ins with myself, gives language to what stillness sometimes reveals: the thoughts we’ve ignored, the emotions we’ve buried, the patterns we’re ready to release.

Stillness is not about doing nothing. It’s about doing what matters from a place of peace. And in today’s world, that might be the greatest rebellion of all.

In the noise of ambition, the chaos of responsibility, and the unpredictability of life, stillness isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. It’s the anchor we return to when the waves rise, the quiet clarity that cuts through confusion.

Choosing stillness doesn’t mean stepping away from growth or momentum; it means rooting ourselves so deeply in presence that our actions come from intention, not reaction.

So, I invite you, especially now, especially in the unknown, to adopt stillness as your standard. Let it be the ground beneath your decisions, the rhythm behind your days, the space where your true self speaks.

Speak soon,

-Rey

Sophia • Andreia • Dikaiosyne • Sophrosyne

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