Practice the Pause: Pause to Refresh
The holiday season is officially upon us. For some, it started with the planning and prepping for Thanksgiving. For some, it may have started weeks ago when the early Black Friday sales started, and we began scrambling to make our holiday gift list. You may have realized you needed to add a bunch of new names but, may not have the budget for your growing extended family. Or the size of the list is simply overwhelming.
And thoughts flood our minds:
“People are coming over, I must clean the whole house, where are we going for thanksgiving dinner? How do we split time between our extended families? Ugh, I really do not want to see or talk to “that” person at dinner. This holiday season is going to be difficult because of a loss or broken relationship. How can I schedule everything that I need to do?”
What it all boils down to are feelings of being anxious, overwhelmed, exhausted, stuck, and unable to think straight. Essentially burn- out. Whether you feel those feelings because of the holidays, family obligations, work, or other competing priorities, the first step to avoid or reverse burn-out is to Pause to Refresh!
Leaders take note these feelings are not limited to the holiday season!
For some it started long before the holidays. So long ago you can’t remember a time when you weren’t overwhelmed! Time keeps passing, responsibilities and time-sensitive tasks continue to pile up, so take a moment, a 15-minute break, an afternoon, a day, or a vacation to pause and refresh. Clear your mind so you can take the next step, reset your perspective.
When you are stressed and overwhelmed your body goes in to fight or flight mode. To reset, you must move yourself into the rest and digest mode. It starts with self care: Reading a book, taking a walk, watching something comforting, getting away from computer screen or the kids for a few hours, retail therapy, a delicious well-balanced meal (not a coffee run or something you picked up in the drive through). You can do your best work when you pause to refresh your physical and mental energy.
“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.”
— Christopher Germer
Give a gift to yourself this holiday season. The gift of time, compassion, and care that you give to others. Have a happy, refreshing holiday!
