What the heck does that mean?! Taking a pause is incredibly important because it helps us rest, reflect, become more clear headed and so much more! Keep reading if you want to learn more about the pause and why you need to take one ASAP!
According to Google (You know how I love Google!), the definition of the word “pause” is to interrupt action or speech briefly or is a temporary stop in action or speech. If we use this, it’s pretty clear what it means. It’s when we stop what we’re doing for a brief moment. Here’s a few examples:
- You’re listening to a song and have to hit the pause button so you can concentrate on what you’re working on.
- You’re working out and have to hit the pause button to catch your breath.
Makes sense, right? The same goes for your life. Sometimes you have to hit the pause button so you can slow down and rest. At the time of this writing, it’s December and it’s about a week before Christmas. I bet a lot of people out there need to press pause.
Why is it important to press pause?
Well, for a lot of reasons. The most important reason is that when we press pause, we get a chance to feel human again. It might take some time but when we’re in that restful state, we have the opportunity to see things clearly and feel like ourselves again.
It also allows us to recharge our batteries. When we’re on the go too often for too long, we run out of steam. If that happens, we feel like we have nothing left to give. The time you spend resting is like a jolt to your internal system.
When you take a pause, you give yourself a chance to calm down too. Ever been in an argument that just goes off the rails? Yup! We all have been there. What do you do to stop your anger from increasing? Maybe you take a walk. That walk IS the pause.
Don’t think of taking a pause isn’t a setback. In fact, it’s a move forward. When we have down time in life, for us and only us, we have a chance to reflect. On our lives, the choices we’ve made in the past and how we want to live our lives from there on out. Actually, it’s a great time to work on the Start, Stop, Continue exercise.
Why should you pause often?
Because it’s a priority. Plain and simple. Self-care should be a priority in life if it isn’t now. Unfortunately, many people don’t make it a priority. Taking a pause is a form of self-care. It’s not always about the bubble baths and manicures and massages. Sometimes it’s just about rest.
If you have the play button pressed all the time, you’ll exhaust yourself. And that’s not good for anyone. You want to be at your best every single day so taking a pause gives you the refresh that you need and helps you come back strong!
Before the year is out, I want you to schedule your next pause. It could be a few minutes, a few hours, a whole day or even a whole weekend. YOU decide how much time you need and when you’re going to take it. YES, you can be a bit selfish because guess what…IT’S NOT SELFISH TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!