Pause Quotes

“Ask the questions even if you don’t want the answers. For the answers that we don’t want are often the very things that keep us from doing what we shouldn’t be doing.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Pause, breathe and smile. Anything that adds to your stress is likely not worth pursuing.”
― Majid Kazmi, The First Dancer: How to be the first among equals and attract unlimited opportunities

“Sometimes we just need to put down our phones, close our eyes and take a few deep breaths. Ideas are often in flight patterns around our brains, just waiting for clearance to land.”
― Sam Harrison, Creative Zing! Spark Your Creativity & Powerfully Present Your ideas

“This morning I stopped to watch the geese fly, even though I didn’t have the time to do so. And I realized that not having the time to do something might be the very reason why I need to do it.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Pause
Pause to feel the little Joys of life.
Pause to reflect on the learnings they imbibe.

For these Pauses are the ones that fulfill your life.”
― Drishti Bablani

“There are these open spaces in life called" pauses "and it is most unfortunate how the majority of people do not bother themselves with the pauses of life in pursuit of their desire to fill every moment they experience WITH THEMSELVES. You need to take a few steps back and not feel the constant need to pour yourself into every space that life offers. The pauses are equally--if not more-- important as the active participations that you make.

When we kiss, we remove a part of ourselves from the experience by closing our eyes; this removes the sense of sight, it allows for an open space for a pause to let life flow through it. When we make love, there are the pauses, the nothings, the gazing into the eyes; the removal of oneself from the experience. Why? Because we instinctively know that the best parts of life are not fully had in the absence of nothingness. Nothingness is vital, nothingness is essential.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“Now the days seem to pause between the moments on the brink of something to come.”
― Jazz Feylynn

“By making space for the unplanned and unorthodox, we allow for unforeseen resolutions of challenges we may be facing.”
― Molly M. Cantrell-Kraig, Circuit Train Your Brain: Daily Habits That Develop Resilience

“When have you paused to let life in? When have you stopped scrambling to produce more social media content, stopped scrambling as though in a race to be unforgotten? Where are your pauses? Where are the spaces in your life where you let the light in? Where is your stillness? You are afraid of being forgotten, so, you scramble to impress yourself onto everything, everywhere... but what has been impressed into you?”
― C. JoyBell C.

“After John’s arrest, life came at me fast. At every turn, I found myself in a place where my gut reaction was fear, anger, or deep sadness. I had to learn to Pause. This was my chance to take a breath and get myself grounded. It helped me not to react unconsciously (which didn’t turn out well when I did).”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“I bet some of you are thinking, Who has time to Pause? There’s too much to do! Have you seen my to-do list? I have—and I know it well. I’m a recovering multitasker and overachiever. And I also know how hard it can be to even think about hitting that Pause button.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“If we don’t Pause, life will find a way to take one for us, whether we like it or not. For instance, sometimes illness is our body’s way of forcing a Pause.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“You know what a Pause is. Depending on your situation, your Pause may be three seconds or, if you need more time, the Pause might be a few hours. But no matter how long, it puts distance between you and your reaction.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“We all ask for advice at times, and most people around us are more than happy to give it. But Thoughtfully Fit asks you to embrace the idea that you know what’s best for you better than anyone else. Thoughtfully Fit is a way to ask yourself for advice. After all, you’re the expert of your own life. And if you take time to Pause, Think, and listen to your own answers, the path forward becomes clearer. But if you aren’t taking the time to Pause and Think, that path may not appear. Or you may take a path that leads to regrets and greater conflict. Or worse, to a new Mount Crisis.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“This journey has led me to Pause and Think about my new role as a mom, an ex-wife, and a co-parent with a convicted felon and registered sex offender. To think about who I want to be as a survivor. I was powerless over what happened to me, but I had a choice to be thoughtful in what I did next. I didn’t want to live as a victim. I didn’t want to be angry or bitter or vengeful. So I continuously work to Act in a way that supports my life, by practicing being Thoughtfully Fit and by picking up the pieces when I falter. And I falter often.
I still have lots of ups and downs, but I’m better today than I was yesterday.”
― Darcy Luoma

“According to a report in Harvard Business Review, research shows that “Reflection gives the brain an opportunity to Pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning.” 2 If we can create that Pause in the chaos, we can make more thoughtful decisions.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“The Pause is the foundation of being Thoughtfully Fit. It takes practice and might lead to an awkward moment or two, but it will be worth it. Because without the Pause, you’re also likely to skip Thinking, and then you’ve already crashed. And you can’t summit Mount Crisis if you crash and burn.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“If you think meditation is for monks and the idea of too much quiet time gives you hives, I’ve got good news. The Pause doesn’t have to be about quieting your mind! (We’ve got Stillness for that.) In the Pause, you create space for your mind to Think about the choices in front of you.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“There are numerous ways to Pause—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Start with little Pauses. Take a couple of breaths while you gather your thoughts in the middle of a meeting, or save an email draft to reread thoughtfully before hitting send. Wait to reply to a request to join the fundraising committee. Before you fire off a response to a contentious email, Pause to reflect on whether making a quick phone call could accomplish your goal more efficiently. Go for a walk around the block, or take a soulful sip of coffee.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“The Pause allows us to slow down. To reflect. To check ourselves before we act thoughtlessly. To give us a chance to be thoughtful instead.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“Any place and time that you can make space to just be is the perfect place for Stillness. There are no rules—it simply needs to work for you.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“Strength is about consciously choosing how you want to show up, to avoid letting others dictate your emotions and behavior. If you set your own thermostat, you can always be a cool sixty-eight degrees even if everyone around you is at ninety-five. And if you’re feeling a little hot? Take a Pause and a deep breath, then Think about ways to bring yourself down to where you know you’ll be in better control of your actions. Then Act from that cooler place.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“And the curve in her lips paused time!”
― Avijeet Das

“After John’s arrest, I felt like I had no time to Pause and Think. I just needed to Act. Call back the lawyer, get interviewed by the detectives, find a divorce attorney, figure out who was going to pick up the girls, cancel my conference call, monitor the news, clean up the disaster from the police search, remember to feed the girls, remember to feed myself, remember to sleep, try to get my confiscated computers back from the police, remember to breathe...
But as someone who is no stranger to working too hard, I reminded myself that if I kept Acting without Pausing and Thinking, I’d only end up in more of a mess. I’d learned that the hard way, and those painful lessons served as the backdrop for developing this model. When I was going into that climb, I was lucky that I had a strong Thoughtfully Fit core. And that core got me to the top of the mountain.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“Consider the Pause like a stop sign. It doesn’t mean you stop forever. You stop, look around to increase your awareness of your surroundings, and proceed when it’s safe to do so.
Do you ever approach a stop sign, think, I can’t stop! I’m too busy! and drive right through? Of course not, because stopping takes less time than an accident or getting pulled over. And just as you might be able to fix your car, you might be able to fix the mess you made by not stopping first. But wouldn’t it be easier to have skipped the mess in the first place?
Is there a low-traffic intersection that you drive through every day? For that, a quick stop might suffice. However, in more challenging situations—for example, how do roundabouts even work?—you might need more time to decide what to do.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“The key is to do all three steps in order. And repeat as necessary.
When you encounter a hurdle, Pause.
Give yourself time to Think:
What do I control? What are my choices?
After you choose your response, Act... thoughtfully.
Acting without Thinking isn’t good, but Thinking without Acting isn’t much better.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“Always return to engaging your core, because you’ll need a strong core for all six Thoughtfully Fit practices. I’ll give you a strategy to build your core confidence, which you can use in any situation. It’s deceptively simple in concept and powerful in practice.
The core of being Thoughtfully Fit is three steps: Pause. Think. Act”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“Agility is about handling the curveballs life pitches at us. It’s being able to respond quickly when you’re caught off guard. When you engage your core to Pause and Think, you can Act by responding thoughtfully when you’re blindsided, instead of reacting instinctually.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“When you learn to ride a bike, ice skate, or downhill ski, the first thing you’re taught is how to stop. It’s an essential skill because if things start heading the wrong direction, you can stop and limit the damage. This same skill is necessary with conversations that have the potential to go off the rails and create lasting damage. When someone blindsides you and says something that triggers you, find the brakes, so you can hit that Pause button.
This can be tricky because, by nature, we often aren’t patient communicators. We expect responses right away and feel compelled to offer the same. I’m inviting you to challenge that and request a little time to gather your thoughts. It can happen faster than you think, so I advise my clients to make simple requests that allow them to Pause. Some examples include:
• Let me catch my breath here.
• Can we find a place to sit down to talk about this?
• Give me a moment to close my door.
• Let me go to the bathroom/let the dog out/fill my coffee, and then I will give you my undivided attention.
The truth is, your brain needs time to overcome some of your initial reactions and access other choices.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“You know about taking action. We all do a lot. Say a lot, type a lot, read a lot, scroll a lot. But the key to this third step in your Thoughtfully Fit core is to Act—you guessed it—thoughtfully. The goal is to Act with greater intention, following careful consideration—to have the action be a result of a more deliberative process, not your first instinct or knee-jerk reaction.
Whatever you decide to do might be hard, but as a result of the Pause and Think, you can have clarity and commitment. And, in some cases, the Act is intentionally not doing or saying something, but choosing to self-manage.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success