Taking "Pause" In All Things
This week's theme: Pause.
A time to sit, listen, and reflect. We live in a go, go, go culture where taking time to rest can feel uncomfortable. We strive for “life hacks” to improve how much we can get done in a day — but do we take enough time to appreciate the pauses? A comedian takes beats, or strategic pauses, to create comedic timing, allowing the audience to recognize the joke and participate in it. In music, notes take on significance through the absence of sound (also known as a rest). Claude Debussy echoes this in a favorite quote of mine: “Music is the space between the notes.” The concept of pause applies to business as well — if you’ve ever heard Johny Ives speak, you understand the power & presence of pause. Bill Gates takes a ‘Think Week’ once every two years to reflect, which is gaining popularity among VCs and entrepreneurs.
This year has forced many people and businesses to slow down, longer than what is comfortable. We can’t control it, but we can take the opportunity to enjoy the pauses, go inward, and explore what we want to accomplish next. Ask yourself: What in your professional life/in your business is causing you to take pause right now and appreciate the moment?
Let’s treat rest with respect, hit the pause button, and be here now.
This post was originally published on 11/27/2020.THE LATEST
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Bonus: check out the other conference talks on YouTube.
As always, special shoutout to Taylor Beseda for helping curate this content.
Follow him on twitter @tbeseda.