When was the last time you allowed yourself to ‘pause’? You might respond « I have too many things to do and don’t have time. And why would I ‘pause’? I don’t see the necessity!»
Let me share with you what can be different by ‘pausing’:
Getting in contact with yourself
When you ‘pause’ you can feel your body. You might feel that it is crying for attention!
One of my clients put an exercise into place which was to tune into her body and scan it to see what was there. She experienced a lot of back pain – pain which was already present but she was pushing herself so much that she didn’t allow herself to feel the pain. She decided to have a session with an osteopath who helped her. The professional asked her « Why have you waited so long? »
Slowing down helps to get in contact with your body and to become aware of its needs. Your body is whispering… Can you hear it?
Living in the now
Slowing down activities and doing one thing at a time. You are not connected to yesterday or tomorrow. You are right now appreciating this moment with all your senses. Little events in your life can therefore take another flavour and become more enjoyable.
Stepping back from your life
With the fast pace of life, it is easy for us to lose track of where we are heading and even forget the reason why we are doing what we are doing.
Taking consciously some pauses will help you to reflect and maybe reassess your life. Is it really what I want? What would I prefer? It’s like having a compass and checking the direction, your direction.
You don’t need to wait until some unexpected events make you slow down. You can begin right now and benefit from it each day.
How could ‘pausing’ look like?
Here are 9 ideas. I would suggest to try what resonates with you and make it yours.
- Coming up with a morning routine: for instance, breathing consciously counting until 10, meditating, journaling, eating slowly your breakfast… or when you commute…
- Reserving a moment just for you: it could be daily or weekly and it has to be in your diary. Just by thinking of it, it makes you smile or you feel good about it. It can be anything: allowing yourself to do nothing, reading a book, meeting a friend, going for a walk, treating yourself, listening to your favourite song and dancing…
- Appreciating nature: taking care of your plants or garden, walking through a park, sitting on a bench in a park, taking a walk at lunch time…
- Getting lost in time with an activity or sport you really enjoy;
- Learning to say « no » to people or events you don’t want to meet or go to;
- Choosing a daily activity which you do, being fully present which means you don’t do anything else: drinking a tea or coffee (with no phone!), eating (with no phone again!), taking your shower…
- Putting some boundaries in place: switching off for instance devices at a certain time and switching them on only after breakfast or before you leave home;
- Making time and spending more time with people you love or those you get a good feeling from;
- Responding to the following question each evening: What are you grateful for today? Think of 3 things.
Pausing or slowing down is a way to develop an awareness of yourself and therefore, to take better care of yourself. It also helps to relax and you feel more refreshed and recharged to take on the world later on!
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