The Power of Pause
Clients often come to me with thoughts racing through their minds, finding it difficult to focus, stay calm, or even get a good night’s sleep. Whether it’s about a career change, a relationship issue, or simply adjusting to the world as it is, the mindless chatter can result in an inability to see a situation clearly. These swirling thoughts tend to be based in fear or anger and can escalate to a point where one becomes combative. This type of reactive behavior keeps us in a perpetual state of turmoil, and stuck in the comfort of what is familiar, despite the negative results.
Sound familiar? So how do you shift from being reactive to a more conscious state?
The most powerful coaching tool I teach is the Pause. Like the pause button on your phone or tv remote, hitting the Pause button allows us to break the habitual pattern of getting reactive before we get triggered. It immediately takes us out of autopilot and offers the opportunity to shift our energy. Just by pausing, we are already doing something different.
Simply by giving ourselves the space to pause, followed by a few deep breaths, we can reconnect with our calm center. From here, we can diffuse our reaction and redirect our attention.
It takes practice, yet each time we choose to hit the Pause Button and step out of the trance state the action becomes more natural and familiar. As we become more aware of our conditioned mind and our automatic reaction, we experience a sense of freedom as we move toward what we want rather than staying stagnant in the same old story.
When we Pause, and breathe, we naturally become more Present and mindful. We can focus on observing what we are thinking and feeling without being sparked, defensive or reactive. As we gain a sense of clarity, we step into our Power recognizing that we do have choices. We take responsibility for our behavior identifying our ability to make choices that cultivate compassion and sense of inner Peace.
This is Open Hearted living.
Pause, Present, Power, Peace Exercise (The Four P’s)
PAUSE
The second you notice that you are in a reactive state, hit the Pause Button. Visually see yourself hitting that button on a remote, your phone or any other way that results in your pausing. In this second, you are changing the energy. You are breaking the habit and re-directing your brain.
PRESENT
Focus on taking a few deeps breaths. Breathing in and breathing, slowly, taking full breaths, breathing in, and breathing out, with each exhale notice you are feeling a little calmer, breathing in, and breathing out, feeling more grounded you become less reactive. Continue this as you start to notice the shift in your energy, relaxing more deeply into the Present moment.
POWER
Take time to notice your thoughts and feelings. Observe from a neutral place, free of judgement, criticism, or reaction. Feeling this shift, you begin to recognize you have a choice on how to react, and new insights into complex situations. You step into your Power, reclaiming your freedom to make sound decisions while taking control of your life.
PEACE
Hitting the pause button brings powerful new options that support your ability to tackle problems differently. In a sense, you are saying, “YES” to breaking a destructive habit. Taking these steps naturally results in creating more PEACE in your day-to-day life.