Advance Praise for
Pause
Pause is the real deal. With proven techniques backed by science, Rachael OMeara shows us how to connect with ourselves and tap into what we really value.
Arianna Huffington, New York Times bestselling author of Thrive
Pausing can add wonderful value to your life. In this enlightening book, Rachael shares many useful tips and inspiring stories that show how to tune in to your life, align yourself with your passions, and live with meaning. This is truly a book worth pausing for.
Chade-Meng Tan, bestselling author of Search Inside Yourself and Joy on Demand
Pause is a much-needed and timely book for those of us who often feel stuck or whose to-do lists have taken over our lives. The lessons, stories, and insights Rachael shares will help you discover the practical and powerful value of pausing. In this step-by-step guide, she shows you how to return to the wisdom of your natural flow in your daily life.
Agapi Stassinopoulos, bestselling author of Unbinding the Heart and Wake Up to the Joy of You
Rachael OMeara has captured a critical component of a life well livedtaking periodic pauses, or time-outs, to realign our actions with our inner voice. Career pauseswhether one minute, one day, or one weekare the essential ingredient to making meaningful next moves.
Jenny Blake, author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One
Pause is a wonderful guide to living our lives with more courage, self-compassion, and authenticity. Rachael shows us how to tap into our deeper selves and notice what is happening underneath the surface while not freaking out when plans dont go our way. Pause to read this book!
Mike Robbins, author of Nothing Changes Until You Do
If you are like me, making a friendship with uncertainty can be daunting. Fortunately, Rachael OMearas new book is a practical tool kit for navigating and facilitating change. What Ive learned from Pause changes everything.
Barnet Bain, director of Miltons Secret; producer of What Dreams May Come; author of The Book of Doing and Being
If youve ever hit a wall, this book is for you. Rachael OMeara knowsshes been there. Pause is an insightful and actionable road map for taking a moment to look inward, and making change that lasts.
Derek Sivers, author of Anything You Want; founder of CD Baby; TED speaker
I cant recommend this book enough to those who are feeling stressed-out. As someone who turns off all screens with my family once a week for our weekly Technology Shabbat, I can promise you that bringing the ideas of Pause into your life will make your life better.
Tiffany Shlain, Emmy-nominated filmmaker; founder of The Webby Awards
Pause gives you the permission you might have been looking for to take a break in your life or start on a new adventure. Rachael not only explains why its important, but she also breaks down how you can do it.
Karen Henson Jones, author of Heart of Miracles
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Copyright 2017 by Rachael OMeara
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Ebook ISBN: 9781101993149
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: OMeara, Rachael, author.
Title: Pause : harnessing the life-changing power of giving yourself a break / Rachael OMeara.
Description: New York : TarcherPerigee, [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016046649 | ISBN 9780143129240 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Burn out (Psychology)Prevention. | Self-realization. | Stress management. | Change. | BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Motivational. | SELF-HELP / Personal Growth / Success.
Classification: LCC BF481 .O64 2017 | DDC 158dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016046649
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Pause for Ten Percent: Ten percent of all author royalties are donated to Pause-some nonprofits annually.
Cover design: Linet Huaman
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Dedication
For those who give themselves permission to pause.
For the transformers and those on their way to being and becoming.
This book is about discovering for yourself what psychiatrist, existentialist, and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl stated so clearly:
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
In that space is the power of pause.
Contents
The wisdom is in the pause.
A LICE W ALKER
Foreword
P AUSE . The very word makes me take a deep breath.
How often do we feel like we are on fast-forward, just going through the motions? We may have a vague sense that we are off purposeas if weve lost track of our dreams. Sometimes the way were living just isnt bringing us the joy and satisfaction we desire.
If you want to get back in touch with what matters to you, take a breath or a prolonged break and be sure to get the most out of it. In Pause, Rachael OMeara provides a menu of options richly illustrated to inspire you, whether you are taking a pause of a few minutes or a few months. She guides you with insight gleaned from her years of dedication to her own awakening and personal development.
Rachael defines a pause as any intentional shift in behavior that allows you the space to experience a mental shift in attitude, thoughts, or emotions that otherwise wouldnt have occurred. She shows us how to give ourselves permission to check in with ourselves, to step back, and listen to a self we so often overlook. This allows us to reorient and to pursue what it is we truly desire deep inside. By pausing, we begin to sense some of the subtle messages that tune us in to what we truly feel. We recognize long-buried desires. Better yet, we begin to sense how to meet those desires and chart a different coursebefore we burn out or find ourselves frantically spinning our wheels, going nowhere fast. Pausing takes us out of autopilot so we can stop going through the motions or feeling like we are sleepwalking through our lives. And if we are already burned out, dissatisfied, unfulfilled, going nowhere, or feeling stuck, pausing allows us to realign with our inner self and adjust our course toward fulfillment, satisfaction, and enjoyment of our lives.