Stop before you start new journey

I don’t know how to start this post… It’s time for me to move forward. But it seems I have been moving forward my whole career :) Maybe it’s time to switch? All right. It’s definitely time to do something new and different.

My initial desire is to jump into a new venture as soon as possible. I think emotionally I want to pass the parting phase without the pain in a very short time. It is very similar to relations in couple when they decide to divorce. Very rarely it happens without drama and you want to free from the pain the whole process brings to you. I got such experience many years ago.

Many times I switched to new a new job relations very quickly without spending enough time on thinking and analysis. I didn’t have enough savings to wait or it was too unbearable to stay in the situation. Many reasons. Now I don’t want to follow this way. Though I have never regret my decisions.

Ok. When journey comes to the final it’s time to STOP.

STOP is a simple reflective technique from T. Gallwey book “The Inner Game of Work”. Now it’s time to recall it.

Step back. Put some distance between me and my job (or current situation). Look at it from the bird view or from the mountain. Detach from it. Take a deep breath. Take a break to quiet my mind and to see what happens. To feel my body and all signals it sends to me. Just watch and be aware of my feelings. Don’t do anything.

Your mind is like this water my friend, when it is agitated it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.

Oogway from Kung Fu Panda.

Think. Now, when I’m more aware of situation, I can think about it. Review actions and reactions. Reasons and expectations.

Organize thoughts. Put my thought into a plan, set priorities and so on.

Proceed. Yes. Only now I can act.

This tiny technique raises my awareness of the situation. It helps me to choose where to go next. This choice is not going to be random and driven by emotions only. More over, while proceeding I’ll have more trust in myself and more energy to move on.