Power in the Pause
While I was lifting weights a few days ago, a thought came into my head: You gotta pause at the top of the rep, because that is what makes you get stronger. Pause, squeeze and then release.
Later in the morning, I found myself starting to get irritated with something at work. My first inclination was to just shoot off a response or to react with anger, but I stopped - paused - and took some deep breaths and then responded in a much nicer way.
When I left for my meeting, I found myself very consciously pausing all through out the day without fully understanding why I was doing it. Before I responded to anything, I paused, and then reacted. I discovered I was doing it in a myriad of ways...from taking a short walk, to deep breathing...to stopping and praying for a minute before I reacted. When I fully realized what was happening, I started to laugh a little. God is talking to me big time today.
There is so much power in the pause. In pretty much every aspect of life.
Think about this...
A pause makes you stronger. It gives you more insight. It makes you kinder and more understanding. It gives you rest and temporarily stops you from operating on auto-pilot. That auto- pilot thing...it is real. We all do this. We have these habitual responses that we give without thinking first, but if we would have paused for just a few moments, the response would have been much different. Better.
I mean, this pause is even in the Bible! James 1:19 (NIV) "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
So, I am thinking that we all need to pay attention to the pause. Try it today and experience the peace it brings into your life and the life of those around you.
