You get to stop from time to time.
In fact, you need to stop.
Our technology, meant to free us, actually enslaves us. We’re ‘on’ 24/7/365.
There’s no space; no respite.
We’re expected to be at the net ready to volley. We’re expected to react: Immediately.
Forget about consideration; forget about reflection.
Everything is urgent. Everything is now.
Except that it’s not.
You’re not a trauma surgeons. (Well, maybe you are. But the trauma surgeon I trained with to become an emergency medical technician was a pretty chill dude.)
Many of the lawyers I work with exist in a near-constant state of anxiety and stress. Everything appears to be an emergency; everything seems dire. Every day, they feel as if they are fighting a forest fire with a squirt gun.
No doubt, they have some pretty important deadlines to keep in mind. We all do. But for the most part, no one dies if we slow down the pace for ourselves. No one dies if we take the time to give a considered response.
No one dies if you take the time to pause.
But endeavoring to slow down in our culture of overwhelm can be one of our most daunting challenges.
It’s not really in vogue.
In fact, if you’re not ‘busy,’ if you’re not ‘flat out,’ if you don’t have your calendar jammed, if you don’t have stuff scheduled back to back for yourself (and your kids), something’s wrong with you!
But that’s not sustainable. (Would you run your high performance car that way?)
You cannot thrive without a pause. So pause you must.
Create time and space for yourself to think, reflect, create; take the time to decide how you want to impact, who you want to serve, and what you want your legacy to be!
Take the time to consider the beauty and the grandeur of the here and now.
Take the time to nurture and care for yourself.
Take the time to me mindful.
Take the time to be; to just be.
You will enjoy the rewards of a peaceful, grounded, joy-filled life that is productive, resourceful and resilient.
Your life is your masterpiece.
Artur Rubenstein once said, “The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes—ah, that is where the art resides.”
That’s the power of the pause.
______________________________________________________________
We have a powerful training program, Mindfulness For Peak Performance, that will transform your workplace: Beat back burnout, improve retention and deepen the engagement of your team. We can customize a program to fit your needs. Email me: [email protected]