On tap for today: The Gift of Remembrance, Day Two of Our Five-Part-Series, “Often Overlooked Gifts that Keep on Giving.”

Have you ever discovered a gift you might have received from someone special, and had it mistakenly tucked under the bed or put away in a closet or the attic, only to find it again and in re-discovering, it was new all over?

That happened to me as I wrote today’s post. 

One of the three gifts in the beginning of our series included “Pause Purposefully” and how it operates.

Here’s a 4-Step Synopsis of how it functions.

1.     Be an observer. When trying to make progress or complete a project, make it a habit to step back long enough to become an observer of your own behavior.  Some people imagine using a remote control  to pause themselves like we would a tv or other device.

2.     Check in with reality. While paused, ask yourself questions like “What am I doing? Is this getting me where I want to be? How is this working for me?”

3.     Clarify what works. If not progressing as well as you would hope, stay paused, take a deep breath, and ask yourself a couple of good problem-solving questions like:  “If I could get myself on a really productive track, what would that look like? What have I done in the past to successfully re-focus myself?”

4.     Proceed. Get moving in the direction that you have confirmed.

When we begin to pause purposefully, ideas become generative and innovative. We have access to better thinking and action.

Forgetting to remember 

Yet, for so many of us, when we are called to new challenges, we forget to take the first step. We forget to pause… to remember to do what we know to do!

Once again, I sit with a cup of coffee and a window of solitude, and my electronic journal this time. I wonder if I have anything useful to share with you after all.

Ahhh! I recognize that this self-talk is not my friend doing me justice and I push the pause button. 

Note to self: Pausing in order to move forward is a daily practice that asks for progress, not perfection.

Written prayer works for me. Here is some of mine this day:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you this morning having forgotten to Pause and to Pray James 1:5 about this day and about this writing. So, may I hit the stun gun again with me as the target and begin anew.

So now I take a deep breath.  I remember to pause purposefully, that’s a good sign.  Now what?  Oh yes, Pray. Thank you for nudging me into patience &  perseverance, and the necessity of purposefully pausing to pray!

So, I focus once again on the verse which reads “If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to you.”

There it appears again.  The reminder to ask and that You give generously.  That must be your gift for today.  To remember to pause, pray, and do something with the answer that is given. 

Your “pause ritual”

May I ask, what might the right “pause ritual” look like for you?

The point is not to remember what worked for me, but what your path would look like during that paused frame of mind.

I have clients who could never sit still and figure this out.  Their pause would include a walk around the building or a run around the block to get their heads clear and come back at something in a new way. 

Some will take a break and play solitaire on line to interrupt their going in circles.  Others call a friend or teammate to help them pause and re-group. My method might bore you to death, so let’s come up with a system that works for you.

The important thing is that you remember to pause frequently to assess what’s working and not working and what you might do instead.   

Thank goodness for the Gift of Remembrance that brings the discovery back to us again until we establish and sustain the habit.