For the last couple of days, it seems that much in my
life has been about pausing and observing.
In my work as an executive coach, I have been having conversations about
stepping back or away from situations. This
morning in yoga class, the teacher focused on pausing. And in a book I am reading by Sylvia
Boorstein, she directed the reader to do nothing but feel comfortable for 15
minutes. Taking a pause can be a
kindness to ourselves and to others.
An article in the New
York Times last year stated that taking a break while we are working is
important because taking regular breaks from mental tasks improves productivity
and creativity as our minds need time to recover from sustained use just as we
need to take rests between weight-lifting repetitions at the gym.
When I was going through my coaching training, I was told
to "observe" my behavior as homework. I did not understand what observation would do
for me as it sounded passive. But, in
trying it, I realized that observing can be the first step toward change. To observe ourselves in a situation, we have
to take a step away from what we are doing.
And in that small movement away
from a situation, we frequently find that we can move toward something else, which may be what we really want.
There is wisdom to be found in a pause. It can enable us to recharge and regroup, or
to gain perspective. Given the speed at
which our lives move, which seems faster and faster by the year, taking a time
out to rest, to observe or just "to
be" can be helpful -- and kind.
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