Editor’s Note: Since it received such a positive response last year, once again during the months of July and August, your weekly Pause will feature nine messages from the ‘Best Of Pause’. These are readers’ favorite messages from the earliest years of the Pause e-zine.

Featuring these Pause Gems will give me a bit of a breather to regroup, research, and develop some great new material. It will also introduce our more recent subscribers to some of those early ideas.

Whether you are a long time subscriber, or new to the list, I sincerely hope you enjoy these gems. Have a wonderful summer. I’ll be back again in September with your regular Pause format featuring all new info and resources.

Reflection & Action: Conference over. Sleep long. Body rested. Hot shower. Room-service breakfast. Travel day. Check schedule. Oops!

If I’m taking the airport shuttle, I’ve got 30 minutes to dry hair, dress, pack clothes and conference collectibles, pay bill, check out, and get on board. I shift into serious hustling mode. Heart rate rises as the clock speeds on. Then brain kicks in.

Shuttle leaves in less than 30 minutes. It winds through a 60 minute, multi-stop route to the airport. Cabs leave any time, head directly for the airport, and take 20 minutes on a sleepy Sunday morning.

Price of shuttle? $12. Price of cab? $24. Price of sanity? The difference – just $12. Who says you can’t buy time – and peace of mind?

Of course, if I had started earlier, I wouldn’t have suffered the surcharge for sanity! But who amongst us always thinks ahead and always leaves enough lead time?

The point is that whenever we find ourselves fraught with frenzy, it’s easy to miss the options that are right under our nose.

Are there any crazy-making assumptions that might be driving your actions these days? Take a closer look when you next find yourself running around in circles. Pause, stop chasing your tail, and scout out the choices.

Quote Of The Week: “You can be the master of your universe or a poster child for the breathless society. It’s your choice.”  – Dr. Patt Schwab

Resource Of The Week: Print and post your own Press Pause / Press On Visual Reminders using these templates from the Pauseworks Freebies collection.

Readers Write: Rose-Marie C. writes: My friend, Bridget, came to our Toastmasters meeting last night. We had not seen her for almost a year and were happy to see her again. She and her family took the ultimate pause this past year.  They took one year off from all activities. There was no Toastmasters, no swimming, no hockey, no soccer, etc. She reorganized her work schedule to be home for lunch with her kids and to pick them up from school at 3:30 p.m.  When they got home there was ‘nothing’ to do!  No rushing off to numerous activities. They played cards and games. She even had time to teach them games she learned from her grandmother. She says it was a great year. They learned lots about each other and spent quality time together.  Next year they will return to the extracurricular activities they enjoy most.  A few years down the road, they will do it again. How many people actually take time off like this to regenerate their families, as well as themselves?