Friday, October 14, 2022
There are times in life where stopping is the only thing you need to do. Life seems to pause at times, things hanging in the air like a pendulum, just before swinging back in the other direction. At an artistic level, one may call that writer’s block. In the working world, one might call that burnout. In a relationship, it could be total exhaustion. On a personal level, you just might be tired of your life! At one point in his television career, Fred Rogers was burned out. And so, he took a break in 1975, after having taped more than 400 episodes.
In a letter he wrote to himself, he questioned if he had it in him to continue writing more content. Have you ever been there? Surely you’ve had those moments of complete emptiness, doubting your appetite to continue. There are times to take inventory, to check in with your desire to continue, or to make plans for change. We all need these fork-in-the-road moments from time to time.
“Do I want to continue; do I just need rest; or do I want to move in a new direction?” If you recommit to what you were doing before, that’s called a second wind. If you want to go in a new direction, that might be what you need instead. The key is to pay attention. You have to rest long enough to notice. The pause button is just as valuable as the play button, but most are in fast-forward mode all the time. You’ll never notice when it’s time to pause, if you’re always moving a mile a minute. If you’re burned out, that’s a road sign that says “Stop.” Take time to catch your breath from time to time, reflect on which direction you want to go before the winds pick up again.