The most important thing you can do for your confidence is to take a moment of pause.
“Ok Nikol, what the heck is a moment of pause?”
Glad you asked!
It’s when you stop what you are doing, step away from all the craziness, and allow yourself to take in your surroundings. You are literally hitting PAUSE on the emails, the texts, all the notifications, and the many things in your life calling for your attention NOW.
And for the purposes of today, I want to add, a moment of pause is stepping away from electronics.
More and more research is coming out around the effects of tech, of electronics on our actual body, mind and spirit. The high frequencies of today’s technology create an enormous amount of stress on our nervous systems. And when our nervous systems don’t have a chance to reset and relax, then we begin to run on empty and burn out.
Here’s some amazing benefits to a moment of pause:
- Improved creativity
- Stronger connection with your muse and inspiration on your projects
- Greater access to problem solving
- Peace of mind
- Being able to shift quickly out of anxiety or fear
A moment of pause can be a powerful tool of transformation you can use every day, especially when you are feeling frustrated or stuck.
So, what does this have to do with your confidence?
Well, if you are able to transform a moment when you felt stuck, scared, or frustrated, this places the attention back on your ABILITY. Instead of beating yourself up for feeling like you will never answer all your notifications, or judging yourself for feeling like a failure, you are instead placing your attention on taking an action that will actually SHIFT you out of self punishment and into empowerment.
Your confidence is boosted because you have evidence you are ABLE to change.
And the most amazing thing about a moment of pause is the simplicity of it, regardless of where you are.
Let me walk you through a couple of examples you can try today.
Let’s say you are at home working on a project, and have a yard. You can step away from your computer or studio, and go outside. Take in a blade of grass. Look at the color, texture, and length. Or place your attention on a cloud passing in the sky, or a leaf gently blowing in the breeze. What do you notice in your body? What are you feeling?
Let’s say you live in a city, and don’t have a yard or park nearby. Step away from your screen, whether it’s your phone or computer, and place your attention out the window. Take in the sky. What is the color? Are there clouds? Or place your attention on a single color in the room, perhaps the stitching in your shirt. As you do so, what do you notice in your body?
When I lived in NYC, and was spending so much time in my small 300 square apartment building my business, I used to put on my coat and walk outside to the sidewalk and just look up at the sky. This was a life saver for me. A moment of pause can happen anywhere, but I hope you are seeing the common thread.
A moment of pause takes you out of tunnel vision, and allows your whole mind, spirit and body to open up. When you take in something simple, whether it’s the sky or a leaf, or a stitch on your clothing, you are reminding yourself you are part of something larger.
You don’t have to control it all. You have space and time. Right here and right now.
One of the best examples of a moment of pause happened to a single mother riding the train in England. The train stalled, and she found herself jarred from the constant go go go of her life, and schedule of what she thought she had to do and where she had to be. She sat on that train for three hours, and came up with a story idea of a young wizard, born with a lightning scar on his forehead. Her moment of pause allowed her to create Harry Potter.
For me, this last weekend was another reminder of how powerful a pause can be. I’ve been feeling much better now that my detox is over, and finding my strength starting to return. So, my husband and I went for a hike at a local park. We hiked for miles and I noticed I didn’t want to leave as we approached the parking lot, and was feeling anxious. So, just before we exited the path, I invited my husband to sit on a log with me and have a moment of pause.
Before us was a ravine, endless amounts of dried brown leaves, and a slight breeze blowing through the tall, thin trees in front of us. As soon as I sat, I felt my whole body go quiet. All the many things we still wanted to do on our Saturday all melted away, as I just took in the forest.
We sat in silence for a few minutes and then my husband whispered, “there’s a bird”. Sure enough, down on a log in the ravine, a small House Wren was preening itself, cleaning each feather and all puffed up in the February cold air. I felt this wave of joy flood through me and a smile broke out on my face. After a few minutes the wren hopped down off the log and my husband and I walked towards the car. I was ready to go to our next task, free of the anxiety I experienced before.
A moment of pause can be 5 minutes.
A moment of pause can be a complete transformation.
And a moment of pause can lead to a discovery. In fact, it can lead to the most important discovery for you to make.
The discovery that you CAN change and you have a say in your transformation.
Who you are is your greatest power.
Take a moment of pause to reclaim that power. It’s all there waiting for you.