The Pause that Leads to Success

By Beth Porter, Leadership La Plata Class of 2015-2016.

Purposeful pause. Intentional pause. Strategic pause. Power pause. In this instantaneous digital world, we can lose sight of the value of the pause. 
Emails, texts, heated meetings…have you ever responded immediately then wished you’d taken some time to reflect on your response…content, tone…before hitting send or jumping into the fray? Our to-do list culture often compels us to move constantly rather than purposefully. 
A pause can feel like losing momentum. Yet taking the time to reframe that response and understand that clarity fuels growth and creativity and lowers stress. Yes, it takes time. But intentional pauses can lead to greater progress in the long run.
Here are a few tips to add the purposeful pause to your skill set:

• Prioritize intention over urgency
• Recognize there is time to pause…even if it’s for a few seconds to become present in the moment
• Be open to how are you feeling emotionally, physically, mentally. If your attitude is wrong for the situation or your mind is racing with chaotic thoughts, pausing can give you the awareness you need to realign 
• Here’s a quick exercise to help ground you in the present: What are five things you see? Four things you hear? Three things you feel? Two things you smell? One thing you taste? 
• Know your mind will likely wander. It isn’t failure, it’s awareness and the opportunity to redirect your focus back to the present.

There are also business processes that just take time and patience to let a solution work. I’m in advertising, where this is especially true. Building brand awareness and seeing those results takes time and consistent effort…like sit-ups. You could do 500 sit-ups in one day or one a week; you aren’t going to achieve your desired results with either strategy. Meeting your objective takes patience, consistency and frequency. 
Setting up your objectives, deciding on your messaging, researching which audiences are right for your business takes time to develop. Once implemented, advertising takes time to work. Time to reach audiences, resonate with them and give that audience time to react. Then you can watch that ROI grow as your messaging slowly catches fire. 
Resist the urge to react to short-term fluctuations and jump from one message to the next or one platform to the next, whether traditional or digital. That impatient approach usually means you’re spending more and not getting the results you’d hoped for. 
You can start a fire with jet fuel, or you can use kindling and a match. One catches fast and burns out fast. The other takes time to catch but creates flame and embers in the long run.
Purposeful, intentional, strategic pauses aren’t about doing less. They are about letting you step back to evaluate or in some cases, to let the kindling you’ve laid catch fire.
Looking for an immersive experience in leadership development or to develop leadership skills for a team member? Consider Leadership La Plata, an excellent local resource. Check out https://www.durangobusiness.org/llp.html for more information