Permission to Pause

So in early summer 2022, I was a consistency junkie. If I could show up daily for journaling, 2-3 times a week for fitness classes, weekly for the podcast, etc. then something magical would unlock and life would always be easy. Consistency for the win.

This all made sense and worked…until it didn’t. Life tossed things onto my plate that took time and energy, kid commutes got longer (#momlife), and some activities (looking at you, podcast) started to feel complicated and burdensome.

I remember thinking, I used to love editing the pod…why did it feel like I was scheduling a mammogram?

So I hit pause. I was worried – What would people would think? Was I lazy? Was I letting anyone down? Was I letting myself down? What does this model for my daughters? Ugh.

I worried for a few days. Then a week. I became less anxious as summer went on. A month passed. Autumn leaves started falling. Days got shorter. Still didn’t feel compelled to start up again…why not?

And then it hit me.

Nearly everything in our life runs on seasons. Our days, our bodies, our relationships, our weather, our activities.

Maybe if we feel the need to slow down or pause, it’s not by mistake, it’s by design.

I relaxed. A few weeks after that, I felt inspired again and started up on Season 2. I started to let myself show up on a more flexible cadence, and even took another break in July…this time with less anxiety, and a conviction that I would come back when the time felt right.

So the next time you feel like stopping something, when a pastime you love starts to lose its luster, remember this: the desire to pause may be all the permission you need to do just that.