Growing in pause

perfect for the season

Admittedly, I am woefully inadequate at the looking back and celebrating part of life, teamwork, and leadership. I have strengths in learning, strategic and futuristic thinking, and relationship building, but I need others to help me galvanize and celebrate even my own successes, even more so those of the team.

This is one dynamic of growth I am looking at intently as we turn the corner to the New Year. Growing in slowing.

Every year I choose a word and a creature of the year, and have been seriously considering the Snail for 2026. Snails are unique to humans in their sleep-wake patterns, often sleeping for days and then experiencing a sudden burst of energy for up to 30-hours of uninterrupted productivity. They ignore the day-night divide and move according to their nature. They are pretty marvelous, actually, and contribute to my skin care so that’s nice too.

I have had several discussions with clients recently about appropriately taking time to pause and appreciate how far they have come. We often look at the gap between where we are and where we want to be, neglecting to acknowledge the gain we have experienced from where we were to where we are today. High-perfomers often need help pausing to celebrate and acknowledge the wins. We are quick to say “cool, what’s next?” and fail to really enjoy the moment at the top.

Growing in pause is not just about looking back, it can also be important for future oriented decision-making. How much pause do we give ourselves before making a pressured decision? Is that pressure real or self-imposed? Could we ask for a little more time? Have we considered if a move is even the best choice? Could waiting for another opportunity be better? If we never pause, we never know.

When we pause intentionally, if even briefly to intuitively feel into our gut (“what does my gut say?”), and trust what our body knows—we will likely make wiser decisions. Often the gut and body knows more about a situation than we think, and we need to listen to what it is saying and trace the logic after. Pausing to better listen to our emotions is not fluffy, it’s a key to emotional intelligence.

A little more pause, not just this season but evermore, could do us all well. We have built an unending hustle-and-go culture, pressed and hurried purchases, decisions, judgements, and steps, and we can dismantle it. One pause at a time.

What could you gain if you grew in taking a pause? before a decision, before a conversation, after an accomplishment…

I will be taking a pause from Dec 19-Jan 5. I hope you create some margin to pause yourself! See you next year.