E89: You Don’t Need to Comment on Everything (And Why That’s Leadership)

In this episode of Dream Business Dream Life, we explore a subtle but powerful shift that can dramatically change how you feel online, in your business, and in your life...not commenting on everything you have an opinion on.

In a world filled with constant opinions, hot takes, and online conversations, it’s easy to confuse participation with leadership. But what if choosing not to respond is actually a form of self-leadership, maturity, and energetic protection?

This episode is a gentle invitation to pause, reflect, and become more intentional with where, and how, you spend your energy.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why having an opinion doesn’t always mean it needs to be shared
• The emotional and energetic cost of constant online engagement
• How commenting everywhere can quietly drain your nervous system
• The difference between participation and true thought leadership
• Why grounded, successful business owners tend to be more selective online
• A simple question to ask before entering any online conversation
• How protecting your energy supports a calmer, more sustainable business

Thought leadership isn’t about volume.
It’s not about visibility for visibility’s sake, and it’s not about having a public opinion on everything. Real leadership is quiet, intentional, and grounded.

Sometimes the strongest thing you can do, for yourself and for others, is to stay quiet.

A Question to Take With You

Before commenting, responding, or engaging online, ask yourself:

Will this help, or will it just cause another reaction?

If something is truly meant to be said, it won’t feel rushed.
 If it’s meant to be shared publicly, it will still be relevant later.

Why This Matters for Your Business

A dream business requires:

• Clear energy
• Creative energy
• Emotional capacity

When your energy is constantly spent on reaction, there’s less left for what truly matters: your life, your work, and the business you’re building.

Want to connect? Find me here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamemmahine

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-hine

Website: https://www.emmahine.co.uk

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaHineStrategy

Transcript

Hello & Welcome to today’s episode of Dream Business Dream Life.

So to day I want to talk about something that’s been sitting with me for a while, and the more I’ve paid attention to it, the more I’ve realised how much of a difference it’s made to how I feel, not just online, but in my business and in my life more generally.

And it’s the concept of not commenting on everything I have an opinion on.

Which sounds simple, almost too simple, but when you actually start noticing how often you could comment on something, you realise how much energy that takes.

Because we’re surrounded by opinions. I’m giving you mine right now. Every time you open social media there’s a post that triggers agreement, disagreement, curiosity, frustration, or that feeling of “well yes, but…” And if you’re thoughtful, if you’re reflective, if you’ve been in business for a while, you probably have a lot of opinions of some of this stuff. A lot of lived experience you could share. A lot you could say.

Now I wasn’t actually someone who commented a lot.

I had the thoughts…absolutely. I noticed the things that triggered me to want to comment, I saw the missing pieces, I had opinions and reflections like most thoughtful people do. But more often than not, I kept them to myself.

What I did see, though, was other people saying it. A lot of people getting involved in discussions over what is right and wrong. People commenting on everything. Jumping into every conversation. Sharing their opinion, their experience, their correction, their disagreement.

And watching that over time really stayed with me.

I questioned if I was weak because I kept my thoughts to myself.

But I could see how much energy it was taking from people. I could see how involved they became in conversations that weren’t actually theirs. I could see how quickly something that started as a simple comment turned into an ongoing exchange that followed them through their day.

I could see it in how often they checked back, how emotionally invested they became, how their nervous system seemed to stay slightly switched on, even when nothing overtly negative was happening.

And I also saw the effect it had on the spaces they were in.

Conversations were getting heavier instead of clearer. Not because anyone meant harm, but because every new comment added another perspective, another energy, another reaction.

And that’s what really made me pause. That’s what made me realise I was not weak…I was protecting my energy.

Because watching it happen was showing me that just because something is thoughtful or well-intentioned, doesn’t mean it’s helpful in that moment. And just because you have something valuable to say, doesn’t mean it needs to be said publicly or immediately.

Watching all of that made me realise how easy it is to confuse participation with leadership. How easy it is to think that being present in every conversation means you’re contributing, when sometimes you’re just adding to the noise.

And I noticed something else too.

The people who felt the calmest, the most grounded, the most settled in themselves and their work, weren’t the ones commenting everywhere. They were often quieter. More selective about where they showed up and how. They spoke when it mattered, and they didn’t feel the need to jump in on everything.

That was a really important lesson for me.

And I think this is something a lot of business owners don’t really talk about. We talk about visibility and engagement and showing up, but we don’t talk about the emotional and energetic cost of being constantly involved in conversations that don’t really require us.

And that’s when this question really started to form for me, and it’s the one I come back to again and again now:

Will this help, or will it just cause another reaction?

Because so much of what happens online isn’t about helping. It’s about responding. About needing to say something, correct something, add something, soften something, balance something out. And none of that is wrong  but it does come with a cost.

Every time you enter a conversation, you’re giving it a bit of your energy. And when you start noticing that, you realise how easy it is to spend your energy in places that don’t actually give anything back.

What also became really clear to me is that thought leadership isn’t about volume. It’s not about visibility for visibility’s sake. And it’s definitely not about having a public opinion on everything that crosses your screen.

Real thought leadership is often quiet and it’s always intentional.

It’s knowing that your voice carries weight, and therefore being thoughtful about when and where you use it. It’s trusting that you don’t need to prove your depth by commenting everywhere. And it’s being okay with letting conversations unfold without you.

The people I’ve seen who feel the most grounded in their business. the ones who don’t seem constantly pulled or drained are usually the ones who are quite selective. They engage when it matters. They speak when it’s aligned. And they’re comfortable not being part of every conversation.

That’s not disengagement. That’s actually maturity.

And there’s something else here that feels important to mention, which is the impact on other people.

Because every comment, even a kind one, even a thoughtful one, lands on a real human being. And we don’t always know what state they’re in when they read it. What capacity they have to not take it as a mean comment or a judgement.

Sometimes adding another perspective helps. And sometimes it just makes it worse.

I’ve noticed how often conversations online become lost and harder to understand, as more and more people comment and get involved in the discussion. Not because anyone is wrong, but because the written word is so often misinterpreted…we all have opinions and unless they are actually unkind then that is ok. We don’t have to share them every single time.

Sometimes choosing not to comment is actually an act of care. Care for yourself, and care for the other person too.

It’s saying, this doesn’t need me. Or this doesn’t need me right now.

Over time, what this understanding has created for me is a lot more calm. There’s less mental noise. Less of that background buzz that comes from being too involved in things that aren’t actually part of my real, lived life.

And I think this matters so much when you’re building a business.

Because a business that feels good to run, one that supports the life you want, requires energy. Clear energy. Creative energy. Emotional energy. And when that energy is constantly being spent on reaction, there’s less left for what actually matters.

And that’s you, your life and your business.

So now, even though I don’t comment often anyway, there’s an even deeper pause there.

A moment of checking in and asking, where is my energy best used right now?

Am I feeling pulled into this, or am I choosing it?
 Am I responding from groundedness, or from a subtle sense of obligation?
 Is this something that genuinely needs my voice, or will it simply create another layer of reaction, another layer of confusion?

And very often, the answer becomes clear quite quickly.

If something is truly meant to be said, it doesn’t feel rushed. It feels calm. And if it’s meant to be shared publicly, it will still be relevant to say later.

To me this feels far more connected to the idea of a dream business and a dream life.

Because dreams aren’t built through constant engagement or constant output. They’re built through intention. Through knowing yourself. Through trusting that you don’t need to be everywhere to be effective.

You don’t need to comment on every post.
 You don’t need to share every opinion.
 You don’t need to prove your wisdom or your experience by disagreeing for disagreements sake..

Sometimes the strongest thing you can do and the most self-led is to stay quiet.

And just come back to that simple question:

Will this help, or will it just cause another reaction?

Thank you for listening, I’ll see you next time.