Practice the Pause

At every moment, you have a choice, if you slow down just enough.  How often do you say yes before really thinking it through?  Or commit to something you then later regret?  Or lash out at someone? Or how about something like hitting snooze and then later being mad at yourself for sleeping in and feeling behind all day, or eating a stack of cookies when you’re trying to lose weight and then feeling like shit because you got off track? 

Right before any action, there’s a thought that’s most likely habitual or subconscious, or an attempt to self-soothe by getting you out of an uncomfortable situation or coping with something you don’t want to feel, and in that moment, you can choose to PAUSE.  Practicing the pause is such an awesome tool and can save you a LOT of inner conflict and discomfort. 

All you have to do, and I realize it’s not this easy, but right before responding to someone, defending yourself, grabbing the cookies, hitting snooze, whatever it is – just PAUSE, just for a second, and think about what you actually want or how you want to respond. What action do you actually want to take?  Does the choice you’re about to make honor your goals, future self, relationships, career, self-respect, or whatever it is?  That tiny little pause can be enough to help you stay on track, beat yourself up less, stop overcommitting, control your anger, and start to rewire some self-sabotaging automatic programming! 

You always have a choice, you just have to slow down enough to make the best choice, for YOU, in each moment.  This takes practice but I promise it’s worth it!