Slow.Down.Now
We appear to be going through life on autopilot. We make to-do lists. We strive not just for better time management skills, but for optimal performance in our careers, relationships, and home life. Our bodies can only take a certain amount of stress and stimuli before the rat race is over for the day; only to repeat it again the next day. Remember – we are human. The occasional pause is what is missing that will bring meaning and purpose back to the simple, everyday moments that make life beautiful.
Our brains are overloaded and overstimulated. Professor of neuroscience, Daniel Levitin, author of The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload, says it perfectly. “Decisions are draining. Each one [consumes] glucose, which fuels our brain to function. We are in constant fight-or-flight mode, which is overcharging the parasympathetic division of the nervous system. One area of recharging starts with our supercomputer, our brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex responsible for “letting it go.”
The power of an occasional pause is your ability to reconnect your mind, body, and surroundings. Transporting back to the present moment is about refocusing. It calls for eliminating the multi-tasking, quieting the negative self-chatter, embracing what you have to level set your perspective, and put one foot in front of the other to build experience that ultimately builds your confidence.
Neurologically, the amygdala (those almond shape nodes located deep within the temporal lobes) help to activate the fight-or-flight response; yet constant chronic arousal causes bad effects. Thus, calming the mind will help to calm the body to not be in fight-or-flight mode. You will be prepared to be in the moment.
As Dr. Rick Hanson, psychologist and co-founder of Wellspring Institute of Neuroscience and Comtemplative Wisdom, explains there are many effective ways to “light up” the brain circuits that relieve worry and stress, and promote positive relationships and inner peace. It is all connected physically, emotionally, and mentally. You cannot separate the brain from the body. Sometimes before you go forward, it is best to take a break, pause, and catch your breath.