Pause

I wanted to share an idea with you this week that I've been thinking about for some time. I may have hinted at it in other messages in the past, but I don't think I've written about it as a central focus before. It's simply the idea of how powerful a well-timed Pause can be in our lives.

You may have noticed I didn't send a message last week. I was actually working on this one, but took some time away to be with my family. While I was gone, I made the intentional decision to just take a Pause for a week. It allowed me to be more present with my family and not have so much divided attention. 

I also shared a conversation with a leader recently who had someone come and confront them in a pretty outrageous way. They were on the receiving end of yelling and cursing, and a general explosion of emotion. This leader could tell their temperature was quickly rising within them, and they were in danger of having their own explosion back. However, instead of reacting, they simply said to the other individual, "I need to take a few minutes and gather myself" and they turned and walked away for about 5 minutes. That Pause helped the other person calm down a little, but more importantly, it gave my friend the opportunity to approach that situation with a sense of calm and clarity that established and maintained good boundaries.  

In another situation, I observed a leader have someone come to them with a question. The leader happened to be in the middle of something on their computer, so they said to the person, "Give me just one moment please." In about 30 seconds, they looked up and turned away from their screen, so they were directly facing the other individual and said, "What can I do for you?"  They intentionally Paused their work and shifted their attention to the other individual, which made their interaction more helpful and productive. I could also tell it made the other person feel seen and heard!

These are just 3 examples of what a well-timed Pause might look like in our lives.  What other ideas come to your mind? Are there certain situations where inserting a Pause can change the dynamic? What relationships are in your life that might benefit from a periodic, well-timed Pause of some kind? Maybe it's as simple as closing the apps on your phone and looking up to see the sun or listen to the birds chirping? Where might a well-timed Pause have a powerful impact in your life and work?

Here's to taking a well-timed Pause in our lives this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

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