Pause: why is it so hard

Have you ever tried to stop, pause and just do nothing? If you have, you already know that it is close to impossible.

In our modern lives, we are not trained to pause.

Instead, the belief is to constantly be on the move, in action mode, doing something with your life. Lest you get left behind.

But is it just a relentless drive to do something with our lives? Or is there something deeper that is preventing us from pausing and doing nothing?

Your mind stays active even when you sit down, rest, or unwind. In fact, something known as the default mode network takes over.

Imagine you sat down in your favourite chair. The brain would recognize that there was no stressor, nothing that you needed to actively do right away.

It would then turn on all the suppressed emotions and memories processing them. Uncertainty and anxiety would flood our mind and body, perhaps forcing you to get up.

Isn’t it far better to do something even if mundane instead of raking up unnecessary thoughts and feelings?

Your body is designed to reward you when you do something, however boring mundane or trivial. Tell yourself you will drink tea, then go make it and drink it. You will get a dopamine rush for this everyday task.

You don’t get a dopamine hit for sitting and loitering.

Finally, we are constantly over stimulated. So, a moment, however brief, of nothingness, seems completely out of context, making you uncomfortable.

You immediately want to occupy your mind. You reach out for your phone, computer, television or even a book.

So what can you do if you want to change this?

It would help to recognize the value of a pause, however small. Our body is not designed to be on the proverbial treadmill every second we are awake.

Practice. Take baby steps. Slowly, you will build the ability to unwind without the need for medicine or alcohol.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain