A Microsoft study that will make you pause
HOW ARE YOU IN THERE?
When’s the last time you had a good chat with yourself? I mean a really good chat, a kind and curious one? Where you paused for just a moment to check in with your body? Your emotions? Mind? Soul? When was the last time you paused to consider what’s going on inside and you asked yourself, “How am I doing in there?”
My guess is it’s been a long time because of the new reality we live in and let’s face it, most people have not been taught to do so, ever. On top of this, many of us view resilience as sucking it up and always pushing through. When problems arise, we put our work first, relationships second, and if there’s time left-over, maybe we reserve some time to care for ourselves.
But what if we have that backwards?
What if the key to resilience and peak performance isn’t consistently pushing through? What if the key to resilience and peak performance is consistently putting care first? And the first step in making this happen is by learning to pause, listen, and ask better questions - a tool that I call “Power-Pausing.”
Power-Pausing is a brief moment of time that allows you to listen to yourself in order to come back home to yourself. It’s giving yourself the space to ask, “How am I in there right now? What do I need so that I can better face what’s in front of me?” Instead of defaulting to reacting, a pause becomes a small window of opportunity where we choose how we want to respond and act. Simply put, “Power-Pausing” opens the door for curiosity and change to take place.
But it’s not just me spreading the benefits of pausing. The Microsoft Human Factor Lab performed a study where they conducted brain scans to learn what happens to our nervous system when we attend back-to-back meetings.
The brain scans show our mind and nervous system “overheat” when we don’t pause and disconnect between meetings or tasks. However, we remain cool-headed when we pause to step away for a moment. In the scans, you can see how stress builds up if we don’t take time to pause and release it. Their findings demonstrate - despite our culture’s belief - we cannot be engaged 24/7 or deal with constant input, decision-making, or even pay attention.
The key to making “Power-Pausing” work though, isn’t to use the time in-between tasks or meetings to check up on email. The key is to give yourself the gift of space and to use the five or ten minutes to ask yourself “How am I doing in there? What do I need to be at my best in the upcoming meeting.” Maybe it’s to grab some water, go for a quick walk or do some stretching. Or maybe it’s to sit quietly and ground yourself in your breathing or allowing your mind to let go of the meeting you just had so you can be present in the next one. There is no wrong answer, just the one that works best for you.
In our fast-paced world, harnessing our human advantage begins with a pause. It allows us to change the outcome by providing the space to listen to ourselves and ask better questions - and for me, that’s what care is all about - asking better questions.
In my new book, “The Self-Care Mindset,” we dive into the magic of “Power-Pausing” together and the benefits of taking a moment to have kind and curious conversations with ourselves. It provides us with the tools to reclaim agency and reach our goals, without burning out.
PAUSE ON THIS:
What would change if you could pause more?
