REFLECTION: How do you know you’re racing your engine too fast? When you stop at a red light, you can’t remember where you are going or why, and have to pull over to call home and be reminded just what errand you are running. That’s a true experience shared by a participant in one of my recent ‘Take a Break & Get A Grip’ conference presentations.

He is way too young to attribute the experience to a ‘senior moment’. And, of course, a ‘one-of’ experience like this does not suggest early-onset Alzheimers. But…it could well be an indicator light on the dashboard of life suggesting it’s time to slow down, tune in, and focus on the task at hand.

ACTION: The next time you start racing to and fro, speeding along with very little conscious direction or intent, jot this trio of questions on a brightly colored post-it note. Place it where you’ll be challenged to Press Pause & Think Again – and ultimately respond in more thoughtful, ‘present-to-the-moment’ ways.

What now?

Where to?

Why this?

The questions in this simple reflective focusing tool can help you tune in and keep your wits about you when you find yourself revved up and maxed out by life in the fast lane.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We will be more successful in all our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time, and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. We’ll also have a lot more joy in living.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: Check out Marianne Schnall’s article, In Times of Outer-World Overload, Take an Inner Time-Out .

READERS WRITE: In response to my most recent message, The Burden of Bundling, Pause reader JO writes: Your article reminded me of how systems thinking can help clarify when you are in overwhelm. Everything is related to some extent in a system. We as people are interdependent.  Issues in groups or teams can show up in certain places but the root cause may be somewhere else. When things get jumbled in my mind, I use this as a signal to switch from a breakdown mode to a systems mode to see the broader and more holistic picture.  Rather than overwhelm, this focus on the system dynamic helps me clarify.