We all are overwhelmed by everything going on around us. With more responsibility comes more to worry about…and more piling up on your plate. Decisions about this and that interspersed with neverending calls, emails, and heads popping in needing just one minute to discuss something. And then there are the meetings and the travel and hopefully not lost in all this, family and friends.
It’s enough to exhaust you just thinking about it.
And with exhaustion comes the need to breathe.
We all know about breathing. Most of us do it every day without thinking much about it. Althletes, actors, and great speakers all know the value of controlling your breathing to achieve peak performance…and so think about it always.
But there is another thing about taking a breath…it gives you time to think before speaking or acting. It gives you the chance to hold your tongue or stop your arm from moving. It gives you the chance to think about how that email will sound to the recipient…and do you really want that to be their reaction.
It gives you a chance to overcome the braindeadening effects of overwork and exhaustion before doing irreversible harm. For some reason we often jump to the wrong conclusion and don’t think through why someone has done or said something we find incomprehensible…or worse, destructive. And without the pause to think we respond in ways that make the situation worse.
So breathe. Pause a bit and collect your thoughts. Stop your impulse to react immediately before understanding the implications. Give yourself the chance to be your best.