The Power of Pause

Dear Collective,

This week, let’s focus on mastering the smallest, most important moment of your day: Take a breath before you respond to anything that would change your regular behavior.

Life is constantly throwing challenges at us—the traffic jam, the frustrating coworker, the missed lift. These difficult moments often provoke a rash reaction—a burst of temper, an instant verbal fight, or a decision made purely on stress and heat. And usually, these reactions land us outside of our normal, rational decision-making process. We make mistakes, say things we regret, and complicate problems that were already tough to begin with.

I know this from experience. I’ve made choices in my life, personal ones, where I acted purely on emotion without taking that moment to reflect or understand the full scope of what was happening. Those choices often led to consequences that far outweighed the initial problem. Acting on immediate emotion instead of developing a logical response is a guaranteed way to build regret.

The purpose of the breath is simple: it is the discipline of temperance. It buys you five seconds to let the initial emotion crest and break, preventing it from hijacking your entire response.

Patience is not a mystical gift; it is a skill, and like any other muscle, it can be trained to become stronger. No one has absolute patience, but you always have the opportunity to extend your current limit.

This week, commit to that single, small action. When you feel that tightness, that hotheaded urge to react, stop. Take one deep, full breath. By doing so, you are not avoiding the problem; you are claiming control over your response. You are choosing to act with strength, not just emotion.

With Strength and Community,

Charlie