Why take a pause
Pauses can take various forms and lengths of time. Pauses have different motivations and can lead us in different directions.
Globally, the past 2.5 years have been referred to as a collective pause, a work sabbatical can be an extended pause but even taking one long breath between two activities can be defined as a pause.
But why would it be beneficial to pause, stop what we are doing and just be with whatever arises in the moment or long period of stillness?
Pauses can increase our appreciation of whatever has just happened if we allow ourselves to stop and reflect on it. We can take greater learnings away from a situation and take a different direction if needed.
When we step back and pause, we can clearly see the desires and fears that are driving us. Here we can consciously decide how we want to approach the next moment – do we want to continue to worry about the future or ruminate about the past or do we want to spend more time in the present moment?
What happens if we don’t pause
Pausing isn’t always appropriate. If you are about to cross the road but see a car approaching, you obviously don’t pause to wait and see if the car is going to hit you.
However, much of our modern life is so fast-paced that there are few moments for natural pauses. We tend to fill every moment with something.
If we do this for long enough, we will inevitably move further away from who we truly are, we will feel less enjoyment in our work if it’s just becoming one long string of tasks and commitments and eventually we’ll fall ill and only something ‘big’ will force us to stop.
Of course, pausing can be scary. We may don’t see the point (yet) or we feel we are falling behind. Pausing briefly and beginning to sit with the feelings that arise can be the first step to seeing the value and beauty of a pause.
Tiny pauses
When we complete a task off our to-do list, when we hang up the phone after a call or when we finish cooking lunch, we often just move on to the next thing. Without a second thought, without pausing. We are in motion again and before we know it, it’s time to hit the pillow and we fall asleep with a million thoughts racing through our heads.
I appreciate that most of our days (at least our work days) are very full and it sometimes feels like we have no time to ever really stop. Instead of doing a grand gesture, I invite you to take just two minutes to pause between reading this letter and moving on to your next thing. Click on the button below to guide your pause.