Look before you leap
PAUSE AND THINK
In a world that urges us to go faster, higher, and stronger, that teaches us that stopping is the same as failing, that hesitation is weakness, that the space between a challenge and your response is a void to be feared and filled immediately, which is a lie. That space is not a void, it is the most fertile ground you will ever stand on, it is the command center of your life, it is the difference between a reaction and a response, and that difference is everything.
A reaction is a twitch, it is the legacy of ancient wiring, a spark of emotion flung at a problem, it is the sharp email sent in anger, the yes spoken out of pressure, the impulsive decision made in fear. Reactions are messy, often regrettable, and they hand the reins of your life to circumstance. A response, however, is a work of art, it is crafted, it is chosen, and it is born in one place, the "Pause".
The pause is not passive, it is the most active and courageous state a person can inhabit, it is the deliberate application of the brakes when momentum is pulling you toward a cliff, it is the quiet defiance of urgency over important. When you pause, you reclaim your power, you step out of the rushing current of expectation and noise, and onto the solid bank of your own values. In that quiet, you can hear and give answers to the most questions in your life.
Pausing is not procrastination. Procrastination is fear in disguise, a retreat from action. A pause is the very essence of action, it is the action of thinking, it is gathering your forces before the charge, it is sharpening the axe before putting it to work. Give yourself the permission to take a deep breath when the pressure mounts, to sleep on a big decision, trusting that your subconscious mind is working in the quiet hours. Pause and think, the person who controls the pause, controls the play. The person who thinks before they act, builds a life not of accidents, but of intention.
To a better you, Kamikun John.
Post a Comment