Pause On The Job

Pause On The Job

It occurred to me recently how essential it is that I PAUSE FOR INSPIRATION ON THE JOB! As I Slow Down, Take a Breath, Open to My Helpful Self, and Follow the Unique, Helpful Direction that shows up in the PAUSE, something happens.

What happens is my state of mind moves from tense to relaxed, closed to open, tired to energized, and going through the motions to acting with a helpful purpose. I practiced pausing for Help just now to write this article because I am “on the job” right now sitting at my desk and noticed I was getting impatient with numerous mistakes made on an important form by someone I hired because this is what he does. I am seeing how if this person had simply Paused for his Inspired Mind, he may have saved himself and me time. But, now I need to PAUSE because I am reacting and judging his errors! Breathe. As we do in the “Step Aside” of PAUSE, I asked myself, “What will be truly helpful now?” I breathed through writing him an email and then saw this as the perfect opportunity to write my weekly article for The St. Louis Standard. So, what seems to be a headache is in fact now a help!

 

PAUSE TO SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS. I heard a business owner say once that his business would be great if it weren’t for the customers!!! Hmm. Yesterday, our Pause Assistant, Lisa, called a printing company to gather information about printing our new KIDS CAN PAUSE book. It was amusing overhearing Lisa attempting to have a conversation with the woman who answered the phone. Instead of seeing this an opportunity to do business with a new customer, it was as if the woman was a plant for the competition! Lisa was simply trying to get a few questions in edgewise to see what the printing company could do for us amid the woman’s determination to rattle off the things the printing company cannot do, before even bothering to inquire what it is we were looking to have done!!! Figure that one out. I wonder if the owner is aware that the person answering the phone is sending customers away! The cubicle mind has the CLOSED sign up when it comes to being OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

 

PLUMBERS CAN PAUSE FOR HELP? Oh, the cascade of events that can unfold when someone doing manual labor can cause, especially when they are thinking of themselves, I know what I’m doing, I’ve done this job a hundred times! So, our faucet is about to fall off and one of these days I’m going to get a shower when I go to wash my hands. The plumber shows up and talks to me as if I haven’t a clue as to what a faucet is for or how to turn it off and on. Customer Service Point: Pause to ask your customer questions to gather information instead of telling them what you think they don’t know. P.S. We are all one another’s customers! Long story short he takes off the faucet, heads to the store, returns with a new faucet, puts it on, and then I hear his voice from around the corner, “Uh-oh.” “Oh, ma’am it seems I forgot to take your water filter that was attached to your old faucet to the store with me so the faucet I just installed isn’t going to work with your water filter attachment.” So here we are some two hours and $200 later and . . . He didn’t offer to do anything about it. I paused, stepped back, stepped aside and let my Inspired Mind guide. In previous situations I would have demanded everything be redone correctly, but to my surprise I was guided to let it go. Hmm. So many opportunities to pause, so many possible responses to people, situations and my me-character, that cause me to pause again and see that my real job is to PAUSE . . . for Inspiration.