Claudia von Boeselager [00:00:00]:
Welcome, sweet listeners, to another episode of the Longevity and lifestyle podcast. I'm your host, Claudia von Boeselager, here to bring you strategies, insights, and tools to improve your health, life, and happiness for longer. Thank you so much for being part of this tribe and wanting to be at your best each day. I love hearing from you, so feel free to follow and reach out on Instagram with any questions. It's Instagram handle, longevity and lifestyle. Today is a special episode. It's a solo episode with yours truly on an important topic I've been contemplating more and more recently, namely, the power of the pause. This episode is dedicated to understanding how consciously pausing in life can profoundly and positively impact your mental and physical health, your decision making, personal growth, and overall well being.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:01:04]:
You see, it's often at these times when we pause from the day to day race that profound ideas and insights occur that can set you on a new and higher path in your life. I love the idea of framing pausing as doing less to be more. Indeed, some of my best ideas, like taking time off work and living in Buenos Aires, working with street children, have had such a profound impact on my life. To coming up with ideas on creating new businesses, including the podcast that you're listening to, which has grown in leaps and bounds to reach all of you wonderful listeners in over 110 countries around the world. So grateful to each and every one of you. So what do I mean by pausing? While we should pause and take time to reflect each day, what I mean here is more about consciously taking a step back from life, from the day to day madness, to create space over a longer period of time. That might be just a few days, if you can only manage that, maybe weeks or even months to reflect and open yourself up for new ideas and opportunities. Pausing is a chance for you to dream again and think big.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:02:34]:
As someone who's a pro at packing in as much as possible into each day, I'm such an excited and optimistic and happy learner. Enthusiastic. As a wise friend once told me, you have to leave space for the universe to surprise you. So as part of taking time to pause, I will be pausing the podcast over the summer and resuming again in September. So I wanted to share these thoughts with you as food for thoughts over the summer break. So let's have a look at some benefits of pausing. Pausing can almost seem counterintuitive. We're programmed to want to do more, achieve more, and take action.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:03:21]:
I know I'm very guilty of this very often, but we forget that often our greatest insights come from within and if we don't create that space in our life through pausing, how can we make space to gain access to these insights? The concept of the power of the pause is more than just a catchy phrase. It's actually a vital tool backed by research for personal growth, stress management, and even better decision making. Research tells us that some of the key benefits are for mental and physical health. Pausing is so beneficial for your mental and physical well being. It allows you to step back from stressors and regain composure. It also encourages mindfulness, often referred to as the golden pause in mindfulness teachings. It's about being present and fully experiencing each moment, allowing you to become more aware of your thoughts and feelings, which can lead to a greater self awareness and a deeper understanding of self. A study from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that taking vacations can even reduce depression by 25.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:04:44]:
It also helps with clarity in decision making. You see, when we pause, we give ourselves the chance to get out of our heads and reconnect with our bodies. Doctor Mark Atkinson once said, the mind is like a cave on the beach, while the body is the ocean, our body is an endless source of insights and information, from guidance on what to do next, that gut instinct, to emotions and feelings that are trying to tell us something. If we are open and curious enough to listen to the wisdom inside. By tuning in, you're creating space to gain this clarity and wisdom and make better decisions in your life that are truly meant for you. Pausing can also help with personal growth. Regular pauses from your routines of day to day life allow you a system reset, which can often lead to significant personal development and self awareness. It gives you a chance to get to know the you of today, not who you were yesterday.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:05:54]:
By stepping away, we gain fresh perspectives that are crucial for personal growth. Also, pausing allows us to tap into our intuition, leading to more empowered decisions. It's in these quiet moments that our inner wisdom often speaks the loudest. So make that space to listen and empowerment. Even when faced with disappointment, pausing empowers you and gives you the strength to face challenges head on and take control of your responses. Pausing is about giving yourself the space to react thoughtfully rather than impulsively. So what are some of the ways to implement pausing in your life? You can start by asking yourself important questions in day to day life. Before reacting, just take a moment to pause and ask yourself meaningful questions to better reflect on the situation.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:06:57]:
Before responding. Some things I like to say is, well, what else could this mean? How could I interpret this in a different way? How can I respond better? These are just some examples. Also, reconnect and take time to reconnect with your body and mind. Simple exercises like deep breathing or breath work for a short walk in nature can really help to reconnect. As mentioned before, stepping away from your routine sometimes all it takes is stepping away from the usual routine to create the space to open up and gain a new perspective. Also, for personal reflection and growth, use these pauses as opportunities for reflection and growth. Perhaps it's just sitting and thinking for you. Perhaps it's journaling, which is a really powerful tool.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:07:51]:
Perhaps it's long, solitary walks. Whatever resonates with you in the moment, just trust your instinct like a muscle. The more you do that, the more your instinct and intuition will be available to you. And also you can incorporate mindfulness techniques. Daily mindfulness practices, be in meditation or otherwise can also help you to stay grounded and present as we know the power of now and I also love the quote that life is a series of nows, so being present is so key. I want to leave you with some quotes on the power of pausing as a point of reflection. One by Mark Twain. The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:08:49]:
An Albert Einstein he who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe is as good as dead. His eyes are closed. Another one I love is through the sacred art of pausing, we develop the capacity to stop hiding, to stop running away. From our experience, we begin to trust in our natural intelligence, in our naturally wise heart, in our capacity to open to whatever arises. That's why Tara Brach another quote that I find very powerful is human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response, and in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight. The capacity to create ourselves based upon this freedom is inseparable from consciousness. Consciousness or self awareness. That's by Rollo May and another quote by Sam Harrison.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:10:10]:
Sometimes we just need to put down our phones, close our eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Ideas are often in flight patterns. Sorry. Ideas are often in flight patterns around our brainstor just waiting for clearance to land. I think that gives a great visual and Sebastian vettel quote. Sometimes you need to press pause to let everything sink in. Isn't that so true? So, some final thoughts for you. I personally have been getting signs that a transition in up leveling is happening in my life, and in order for it to take place, I am carving out time and space to pause.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:10:57]:
So thank you for listening and tuning in today. I'd love to hear how you might be incorporating the power of the pause in your life. So you're welcome to reach out on Instagram, on lifestyle or let me know in the comments on Apple or Spotify. Sending so much love and gratitude to you. Thank you for being you shine your light brighter every day. Have a wonderful summer and see you back here for our next episode in September. Until next time, take care and embrace the power of the pause.