YesYouCanChoose

Taking a break often has a negative connotation. For couples it is contemplation about whether or not the relationship is working. On the job, it might mean that something is causing a burden and a rest is needed. Personally it might mean that a person feels uncomfortable and needs to find a different comfort level. In life, it might mean that the mind needs to be cleared. In all of these cases, when you are getting the urge to take a break, know that it is your mind asking you to be reflective and take care of yourself. So reframe your thinking about taking a break. Give your negative thinking a positive spin. When you need a break, you can choose to stop, pay close attention to what makes you need a break, and then be reflective.

Let’s say that your relationship has been really good for six months and then suddenly, you begin having fights with your significant other. Taking a break will give you time to reflect on what you might need to choose to do with your own behavior to have a better connection to the person you love. So do not be afraid to take a break. You may need it to be self-reflective. Perhaps something inside of you is questioning if this is the relationship that you want for a lifetime or not. Pay attention to the sign that you need to take a break. There is usually a message there for you.

What if you have been working until midnight every night for the past few weeks on a project that you are frustrated with and want to just discard, yet you know that if you can just get to a certain point, everything will come together. Your friends are giving you grief for not having fun with them. Your children have not seen you for weeks. Your spouse is giving you the cold shoulder. You look like something the cat drug in with bags under your eyes. You have stomach problems from not eating appropriately. You feel like you need to take a break. What is that telling you? Perhaps your mind is screaming that you need to step back, get refreshed, and take a new perspective of the whole project. Again, don’t be afraid to take a break. It might be just what you need to then return with just the right idea to make the project work. Pay attention to the sign that you need to take a break. There is a message there for you.

When you are in a conversation and feel uncomfortable about the topic, you often excuse yourself or make up an excuse to leave. When you are with a person who creates discomfort, you try everything you can to get away from the situation. Your inner instinct is to take a break. Something is telling you that a different comfort level is needed for you to be in control of either your environment or your emotions. Ask yourself what about the conversation created uncomfortable feelings in me? Or ask yourself what about this person created these uncomfortable feelings in me? Again, don’t be afraid to take a break. There is a message there for you.

Remember that old saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees?” When you are engrossed in a personal problem and cannot find a ready solution that to others seems quite easy because they are not absorbed by the problem, you might need a break. Again, don’t be afraid to take a break. You take a break to reflect. You get other’s ideas or opinions, a new perspective emerges, and you are no longer stuck. Your mind needed to be swept of the clutter so you could see things clearly. There is a message there for you.

Why do you think employers give employees a fifteen minute break in the morning and in the afternoon? You break out of routine and can think more clearly. Why do you think you take a lunch break? You rejuvenate your body with food so the mind thinks more clearly. Why do you think vacation time is needed? You get the relaxation you need to rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit. All have to do with taking a break that is needed to bust out of routine that makes a person less functional and, therefore, less productive. Taking a break allows you to work to your potential and be successful on your job, in your personal life, with relationships and handling emotions. So don’t be afraid to take a break.

The timing on taking a break has to do with the importance of the reason you took the break. Taking a break does not have to be for a long time. It can be of short duration for some things. However, with other more intense or more important issues, it might take a while. Let’s say that you are having difficulty with the question, “Do I want to spend the rest of my life with Sally?” Something just does not seem like it fits. Taking a break to discern may be very important. Likewise, you have only several years to retirement, but your job is really creating negative emotions in you. Taking some of your comp time or vacation days to discern instead of pondering it over a weekend might be what you need. You might need only a short time when you are in an argument and resolution does not seem to be on the horizon. You tell the person you are arguing with that you need a few minutes to collect your thoughts or to reflect before you continue the discussion. Taking a break has benefits. It allows you to be reflective and when you are reflective, you make wiser decisions.

So you can choose to listen to your inner desire to take a break or not. The choice is yours. If you take a break, you might get a better perspective. When you have a better perspective, you can make a wiser decision. When you are making wise decisions, you are pleased with yourself. When you are pleased with yourself, your life seems more satisfying. When your life is more satisfying, you are happier. So choose to take a break and make your life happier.