Pause for choice

A pause can seem so simple and innocuous that we often don’t think of it as a really important resource in our life. Yet we also know what a difference a pause can make. Many a one has benefited from taking a pause before agreeing to a course of action and many a one has regretted not doing so.

A different choice

A pause can give us the time to decide to make a different choice to what’s routine. This might be a choice about how you respond in a relationship or at work, a choice about spending or about eating. When listening to someone’s story, a pause to pay attention can tell the other person that you are present and listening and that you care.

Pausing can also help you to come down from stress, instead of continuously building more and more during the day. Stress isn’t always a bad thing – sometimes it gets us up and going. But chronic stress, the endless building and building of pressure, is bad for us physically and emotionally.

Break the cycle

What we need is to break the stress cycle. A simple way is to pause, quieten the chatter in your mind for a little while and breathe slowly for a minute or two through your nose. You could add awareness of your tummy expanding and settling back. All this will help to switch on the calming part of your nervous system. If you like affirmations you could use one during the above exercise or even on its own. “Calm inside as well as outside” is one I like.

It’s all so simple but could make a big difference. You could do a longer version of this at certain times, maybe before your first tea or coffee in the morning, at lunchtime or before you sleep – or, indeed, if you wake up during the night. If you drive to work, you might like to try a breathing pause when you’re stuck in traffic.

If you bring these pauses into your day, they will build their effect over time, helping you to get through your experiences in better shape and to make better choices.

Easy Mindfulness, my 15 lesson mindfulness course, can help you to make the mindful pause part of your life. Payment is by donation. Learn more.