The Power of The Pause

I’ve been thinking lately about how quickly we move on from the things we once prayed for.

We pray for the job.

The salary.

The home.

The healing.

The opportunity.

The freedom.

The ability to travel.

The peace.

And then, somehow, when those things become our normal, we barely notice them anymore.

Instead, we start thinking about what’s next.

The next promotion. The next salary. The next house. The next trip. The next goal. The next version of ourselves.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting more. I’m a goal-setter by nature, so I will probably always have something I’m working toward. 😂

But lately, I’ve been realizing how important it is to pause long enough to appreciate where I am before rushing toward where I’m going next.

You Once Prayed for Some of This

Think about your life five years ago.

There are probably things that feel completely ordinary to you today that an earlier version of you desperately wanted.

Maybe it’s your career.

Maybe it’s the peace in your home.

Maybe it’s having enough money to do something without checking your bank account first.

Maybe it’s your independence.

Maybe it’s the fact that you survived something you once thought would break you.

Maybe it’s simply who you’ve become.

We get so accustomed to our blessings that eventually they just start feeling like everyday life.

But that’s exactly why sometimes we need to stop and remember:

This may be normal to me now, but there was a time when I prayed for this.

The Goalpost Will Keep Moving If You Let It

One of the hardest things about being ambitious is that there is always another level.

You hit the goal and almost immediately think about the next one.

You finally get what you wanted and suddenly discover something bigger to want.

And before you know it, your entire life becomes one long pursuit of more.

More money.

More success.

More experiences.

More accomplishments.

More, more, more.

But when do we actually get to enjoy what we’ve built?

That’s where the pause comes in.

The pause doesn’t mean you’ve stopped dreaming.

It doesn’t mean you’ve become complacent.

It simply means you’re willing to look around and say:

I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

You Can Be Grateful and Still Want More

I think sometimes we confuse contentment with settling.

They’re not the same thing.

You can love your life and still have goals.

You can be grateful for your career and still want to grow.

You can appreciate what you have financially and still want to build wealth.

You can love who you are today and still be excited about who you’re becoming.

Gratitude doesn’t cancel ambition.

It just keeps ambition from stealing the joy out of everything you’ve already accomplished.

And that’s something I want to be more intentional about.

I don’t want to finally reach the next goal only to immediately start chasing another one without ever celebrating the woman who got me there.

Take a Minute and Look Around

Maybe that’s your reminder this week.

Before you make another goal.

Before you decide you should be further along.

Before you compare your life to someone else’s.

Before you start thinking about everything you still don’t have…

Pause.

Look at what you do have.

Think about what you’ve survived.

Think about the prayers that have already been answered.

Think about the things you can do today that you couldn’t do a few years ago.

Think about the version of you who would’ve been so proud to see where you are now.

You don’t have to stop wanting more.

Just don’t become so focused on the next chapter that you forget to appreciate the one you’re currently living.

Sometimes living richly isn’t about adding anything else to your life.

Sometimes it’s simply realizing how rich your life already is.

Pause long enough to notice. 🦋

Live Rich. Love Loud.

Tiah