What is a Conscious Pause and How it Can Help You?

What is a Conscious Pause?
A conscious pause means taking space between moments in your day-to-day life. Our lives are hectic, filled with personal and work demands and self-imposed things to accomplish that push our minds and bodies to move fast. This kind of lifestyle generates ongoing stress that can seriously affect your health and overall well-being. Furthermore, persistent and excessive stress may lead to burnout – a state of complete exhaustion.
A conscious pause is a way to get back to yourself, restart your system, and recharge energy. Taking a break may mean anything from a few minutes of deep breathing or spending time in nature to going on a vacation.
How Pausing Can Help You?
Consciously slowing down and taking a break activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you relax and calm down. This allows you to pause before you react and chose a more effective and satisfying response.
A Conscious Pause Releases Tension

Taking a conscious break throughout the day can help reduce tension and anxiety, clear your thoughts, and significantly contribute to your self-care. This pause can include deep breathing, mindful observation, mindful listening, mindful gratitude or anything else that helps you relax and regain a sense of stability.
· Taking a Break Improves Productivity
Slowing down allows you to reconnect with the present moment and find a balance. This can increase your productivity and effectiveness.
· A Conscious Pause Increases Self-awareness
Pausing in your personal word, relationships, and professional space boost self-awareness and allows you to recognize the automatic patterns you habitually use in your thoughts and behavior.
· Pausing Boosts Creativity
Taking a break stops you from rushing in too quickly to solve a problem. Making some space between the moments of your day allows you to let your mind calm down and spark creativity. This will help you to think out of the box and find new, creative solutions to your problems.
When to Take a Conscious Break?
There is a variety of moments throughout the day when you can benefit from taking a short time-out.
When you feel that stress starts to build up. As soon as you notice that stress begins to accumulate and threatens to provoke anxiety, consciously recognize what is happening and take a break.
When you’re overworked. When you have too much to do, stressing about how overwhelmed you are won’t to help. Take a short time-out instead and focus on the most important thing you need to do. This will help set priorities and increase productivity.
Before handling a difficult situation/conversation. Taking a conscious break before an unpleasant meeting or a difficult conversation will help clear and calm your mind. It will also boost your self-awareness and emotional control and allow you to experience more empathy.
To start your morning peacefully. Instead of bouncing out of your bed and rushing from task to task, take a conscious pause at the very beginning of the day. Meditate, pin down three things you feel grateful for, or write down your first thoughts on a piece of paper.
Pausing throughout the day is a great tool to clear your mind and body, help you relax, and rejuvenate energy.