The Value of a Pause

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Ferris Bueller said it best: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”A post inspired by Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Yep. That’s exactly what is happening here... I'm blogging about wisdom from a 1986 teen comedy film.

A life lesson I’ve personally learned is: don’t get so booked up and/or run down that you don’t even have the clarity to make sure you’re enjoying life. Do something today that helps you slow down, look around, and hit reset. It’s important. Do it for yourself and your loved ones.

If we get so lulled by our routine, or so tired that we don’t stop to think about how life is going for us, we run the risk of going weeks (or even years) without even noticing that life isn’t quite what we had hoped for. Or worse-- that we wasted a ton of time doing something that we didn’t even like. Or the worst of all-- we didn't appreciate it or our loved ones enough.This is a pretty deep topic, so while I was thinking about this post, I looked up what other people had to say about it. I came across this article: If You Want To Be Happy, You Need To Ask Yourself These 10 Questions Every Morning. It’s quite good, and worth the 5 minutes it will take you to read it. Here are 3 questions from the article to get you started. Stop and think:

• Am I living in alignment with my values?
(If you’re not, you’ll constantly be frustrated with how your life is going.)

• Why do I go to work everyday?
(I keep running into this lately. Other people plead with you to identify your “why” so that you have a sort of “compass” with how you choose to spend your time working. Identifying why you are passionate about what you do is HUGE.)

• How am I making a difference in the world?
(This can be big or small, and it doesn’t have to be with your actual occupation. How you raise your children, speak to others, or help out in your community are great examples of making a difference.)

Let’s circle back around to wise ol' Ferris for a personal example. In college, I majored in Graphic Communications. It’s a pretty competitive major with lots of labs and hands on projects. It’s busy and it’s fast paced. For most of our projects we had to make a printed product from start to finish. I've always loved that movie, so my freshman year I proudly made a notecard with this very quote on it featuring a famous statue on campus who is sitting on a park bench enjoying the view. From the angle I took the photo, it actually looks like the statue is giving verbal advice. I thought it was pretty clever: showcasing a happy statue who never moves with the words “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I sent that notecard to all of my family because I liked it so much.

Ironically, I rushed through that project so fast, I got the quote wrong. I still laugh about this, and it remains my favorite project from college.

On a serious note, I rushed through that project and many, many others so much so that one day as a senior I realized I didn’t actually like my major. Too late. I should have taken this very advice myself. Don't misunderstand me... It’s a great major with awesome professors and a stellar reputation, but I didn’t thrive at it personally.I don’t beat myself up about this because I really believe life happens right on time, and just as it’s supposed to. I made a lot of friends in my major, and learned a LOT. Plus, if I had changed majors I may not have met my husband. I may not have lived where I did after graduating and formed several lifelong, deep, friendships. It all works out just right.

BUT-- it is a good lesson. Make sure you stop and look around once in a while and actually *like* how you’re living your life. And here's the thing: It's ok if you find that you don't. That's simply a wake-up call from life, and that is a powerful moment. Use it. That's the moment you realize that you have the power to do something about it and make the right choices to align with how you really want to live.

Love & Light.