One of the surest ways we reach burnout level is going after our New Year’s Resolutions 100 MPH with no break. We need reflection time to understand the scope of our work taken so far and next steps. It can bring a refreshing perspective, help us get synced up, and ready for the next mile.
You can’t just drop what you have going on to pause though. It requires a bit of strategy and doing it at the right moment to have the best opportunity to have the desired impact.
Understanding what a pause is, is important. A pause is a moment of reflection where you can give yourself the time and headspace to get back to being dialed in with the work you set in motion. This will allow you to plan out the next steps more confidently and with accuracy.
Just taking a pause is not meant to be just relaxing and fun, it’s purpose is much more specific. Using pauses to find your “why” and “what matters most” is the best use of a pause. This alignment is key as you come off the pause it can become the catalyst you need for the next level.
Getting the most from our pause time is just as important as the planning of it. A pause has a incredible way of helping us overcoming our limiting beliefs. We can use our pause to reprogram our minds with more positive beliefs that will serve as fuel for our hardest challenges ahead. We’re free to examine them, digging deep to understand why the limiting belief even exists. I learned a technique called TASER:
- Tune in
- Acknowledge
- Shift
- Express
- Repeat
This habit is a great way to filter these negative biases and beliefs we find buried deep in our psyche during our pause. You can then turn them into positive ones. You keep going until there is no more to filter.
Any free time we get is super valuable. We don’t get to pause often. One of the worst things you can do with the pause is deal with an endless to-do list. The very reason you took the pause was to eliminate this kind of habit. Best uses of the pause are self-care, meditation, or rest/relaxation. You need to find nourishing habits during your pause to be invested in, not more busy work.
After the pause it’s time to get back to where the tires meet the road. First thing, reflecting on what we learned during the pause. Taking inventory of those strengths. Those strengths you got to understand more as you TASER-ed them so you could keep them front of mind as you come out of the pause. They will help you decide clearly what’s next. You should feel great about this kind of self-awareness. As a skill, this has served me incredibly well in reaching my goals.
Taking a pause is your opportunity to regulate and reevaluate your goals this year. Your not weak for doing it. Even the most seasoned long distances runners take a break through drink stations to pause, assess the run so far, and understand what their body is telling them about the next miles ahead. Plan your pause strategically and you’ll not only feel great for doing it, you’ll live a more authentic you.
Thanks for reading!
✌🏻 Shawn
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