Can a Purposeful Pause Make you a Better Leader?
The quick answer is ‘absolutely yes’. When you incorporate what I call Purposeful Pauses into your day, you interrupt the everyday autopilot and provide the kind of break your mind, body and heart need to reset. In other words, you are allowing there to be enough space so you can respond with a conscious decision instead of a knee-jerk reaction.
What is a Purposeful Pause?
It is a moment in the day when you notice the swirl and choose to intentionally pay attention. For example, you notice that you are sitting in a meeting but your mind is speeding into the future or caught in replaying the past—barely noticing what people are saying. You can use a simple practice to bring your attention back into the room: all it takes is a few moments to intentionally guide your attention back to the present by feeling your breath or noticing the sensation in your feet as you gently press them into the floor. There is no need to close your eyes. Just take a Purposeful Pause.
As you take this purposeful pause, you might notice the settling of your busy mind. Why? Because your mind has returned to the present and let go of the thoughts that were crowding out your capacity to be in the moment. The sensations of the breath, other sensations in the body, and sounds can only be noticed in the present. You can’t feel sensations in the future or in the past. You can’t hear the sound of voices from the last meeting, nor the sound of your commuter train whistle later in the day. The sensations you notice in your chest as your ribs expand with the breath can only be felt right now, with the breath of this moment. When you intentionally bring your attention to sensations and sounds, you become more awake to what is all around you and what you feel inside yourself. When the distractions of the past and present are lessened, you can see more clearly what is here in this moment and then choose what to pursue next with greater awareness.
Your ability to effectively Integrate purposeful pauses on a day-to-day basis is directly related to the consistency of your daily formal practice. For example, as you build your familiarity with directing your attention to the breath during your daily meditation practice, you will find it easier to quickly drop in on those sensations as you’re waiting to make a presentation. As you learn to consistently punch holes in the autopilot quality of your day with these purposeful pauses, you will notice how these small moments of mindfulness begin to reshape the next moment.
Some simple examples of Purposeful Pauses
Driving to and from work in silence (no radio, phone, etc)
Eating a meal or snack mindfully (no phone, no computer, chew slowly)
Walking up a flight of stairs a bit more slowly than normal
Preparing and drinking a cup of tea or coffee, savoring the experience.
Remember that these everyday activities become Purposeful Pauses when you make a choice to bring your full attention to that moment, redirecting your attention back to the activity whenever it becomes distracted.
What other Purposeful Pauses will you think of for tomorrow?
Want to learn about other simple practices for the workplace? Join us for our next eLearning workshop.