Do you need a dose of pause-itivity
- Mathilde Barbier
- Dec 14, 2023
- 3 min read
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" When you press the pause button on a machine, it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they start. " - Dov Seidman
When was the last time you checked the battery level in your mobile phone?
I am pretty sure you keep a close eye on your phone and when the battery is running low, you actively look for an outlet to recharge it so it doesn’t ‘die on you’.
Before reading further, I invite you to pause for a moment.
Take a deep breath, and briefly check your own personal battery.
If you had an indicator of how charged your body-battery was between 1-100% what would it display right now?
Don’t over-think it, just make a mental note of the number that comes up. This is how you are feeling energy-wise right here, right now.
Does this number surprise you?
We might be educated on the best way to take care of our phone, but how much attention do we give to our body and our own energy levels?
Our internal battery running low has all sort of effects on our physical, emotional, mental and energy levels which in turn drives our behaviour and how we deal with life’s everyday challenges.
When our levels are low, we are likely to experience tiredness, hyper-activity, anxiety or confusion. We might struggle with simple problem-solving and decision-making processes. As patience is wearing thin, communication can get messy, impacting our relationships in the process.
I had planned to get my monthly mindful musing and blog out to you the 1st of December but an unusual number of challenging events landed in my life one after the other rather relentlessly and the time I had allocated for this creative moment was suddenly taken off the calendar and replaced by urgent tasks to attend to.
Of course, as I still wanted to honour that date, I started getting on my computer in the evening, waking up in the middle of the night with a ‘busy head’, feeling stretched, scattered, undecisive and misaligned.
A quick check on my very low inner-battery level indicated that it was time for a dose of: pause-itivity and gentleness.
Trust me, it hasn't been an easy ride but one gentle act of self-care at a time helped me regulate my body battery enough to be able to function and attend to all those challenges. In the process, I have found gentleness in every single one of those tricky situations.
Yes, we can tune into gentleness whilst grieving
Yes, gentleness is a power to support decision making
Yes, when the body is depleted, gentleness will support recovery
... and much more!
My invitation to you this month: Consciously bring more pause-itivity, self-care and gentleness into your life
As we enter the busy festive season, here are a few questions to ponder:
- Are you aware of what depletes or energises your body-battery?
- When is your next charging point?
- Is it your next cuppa? bed time tonight? this weekend? your next holiday perhaps?
- What can you do to top up your energy throughout the day to a level that allows you to ‘function’ until you reach the place where you can fully recharge?
- Is there anything you need to say ‘no’ to, in order to preserve your battery’s life? |
If you feel that anxiety and stress are constantly depleting your battery and you are stuck, get in touch to arrange a free conversation. Together we can explore ways to intentionality recharge and tap into the power of gentleness. I guarantee 20min of your time invested mindfully.
May you pay attention to your own body-battery this month. As the year comes to an end wrap yourself in gentleness, practice pause-itivity and dare to be the change you want to see in your organisation, family, community and life!
'TIS THE SEASON TO BE GENTLE
Living gently, no matter what
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Image credit: Photo by Jeshoots adapted by dare to be the change
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