Here in the Northeast we recently experienced an official blizzard, aptly named Nemo. The Governor of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency and for 24 hours imposed a travel ban where only essential personnel were allowed on the roads throughout the Commonwealth. Public transportation stopped running at an appointed time as the storm began and schools and companies closed their doors early.
What a wonderful opportunity! How often are we allowed to stop, kick back and count the snowflakes? Certainly for those ‘essential personnel’ in healthcare, utilities, fire/police service and media this was an all-hands-on-deck event with hard work and long hours. I am thankful for these folks and their amazing efforts on our behalf. Yet for the rest of us, the blizzard proved to be an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. It was also a time– either self-imposed or by virtue of losing electricity – to cut down on the ‘noise’, technology and interruption. Uninterrupted, quiet time is something most of my clients don’t feel they have the luxury to take advantage of. Built in time allows us to pause to:
1) Evaluate our previous actions
2) Plan for what is most important to do going forward and
3) Consider what we are learning these activities.
Taking the time to focus on the important things may prompt us to make a different choice, alter a direction or perhaps even stop doing something.
The blizzard showed us, it IS possible to pause- though perhaps we need to self impose or build in this time for ourselves. Challenge yourself to ‘plan for a pause’ over the next few days whether or not the snowflakes are flying!
