Permission To Pause
For 35 years, I ran at full speed in procurement, negotiating deals, juggling contracts, and making sure everything was in order. In negotiations, we had a tactic called the "power pause"—a strategic moment of silence that could shift the entire conversation. It turns out, I need to start using that same tactic in my own life. Now, I’ve been retired for four weeks, and let me tell you—adjusting to the idea that I don’t have to go full throttle every day has been harder than I expected. I have time, real time, to do the things I want. But here’s the thing: just because I can do all the things doesn’t mean I should do all the things. And giving myself permission to pause has been a process. The Great Reboot Think about when your computer starts acting sluggish—what do you do? You hit reset. You turn it off and back on so it can function better. We need the same thing in our lives. We can’t run on overdrive forever. I know this logically, but my inner taskmaster didn’t get the m...
