Pausing is the best exercise you can practice in life to let everything fall back into place. A pause helps you think; it takes you to a safe place when outside influences are trying to do their work. It brings you into contact with your inner wisdom, which is being silenced by external factors. In a pause, you can assess every aspect of a situation and make the best decisions. That is why so many people recommend it, even if they do not tell you why.
A pause makes you wiser, braver, more analytical. It makes you more aware of your decisions and their possible consequences. Pausing helps you breathe more calmly, and when you breathe calmly, you oxygenate your cells and optimize how they function. When you pause, you set the pace. Your heartbeat settles; the anger of the moment subsides, the sadness of the moment subsides, the fear of the moment subsides, the feeling of being overwhelmed subsides.
Pause, breathe, think, and decide. Repeat if necessary. Pause whenever you want to respond in a conversation where you feel attacked, whenever you want to reply to a tweet that upsets you, whenever you face a situation you believe is unfair, whenever you do not feel heard.
Pause, breathe, think, and decide. Repeat if necessary. It is the best habit you can cultivate, one that will help you create everything you truly deserve.
All that remains for me to say is: do not forget to pause, breathe, think, and decide—and, if you feel you need to, repeat.
“The ability to pause and not act on the first impulse has become a crucial skill to learn in everyday life.”
Daniel Goleman