“Be the reason someone still believes in magic, truth, authenticity, compassion, intelligent conversation and love that doesn’t have an agenda.”

Brook Hampton

Whether we confirm and solidify someone’s outlook or rattle it and start a change within them, our individual energy is always a “player in the game”.

Realizing that we have an effect ~ even an unconscious one ~ places us squarely into the Seat of Responsibility.

For ourselves.

And secondarily for others.

I’m not saying I control others’ thoughts and actions…

But I can be more aware of how I enter a situation and how I wish it to come out. If I plan a win-win scenario, I am more likely to experience that then if I plow in with little to no forethought about how I want to show up.

“Who do I want to be?”

“What do I want to reflect?”

Yes…

How will others walk away from an interaction with me…what might they take away?

if I’m going to be sitting there, I’d much rather have some idea of how I want to direct things from there.

Three quick and simple actions to add a Pause into your day:

Morning:

Somewhere between the time you wake up and the time your feet hit the floor, close your eyes, take one minute to choose how you might affect someone’s belief system. Do you want to present “compassion”? Unconditional love? Patience How do you see yourself “changing someone’s mind?”

Your presence is always a catalyst, so being aware of your effect holds enormous power. We need wisdom, and then some!

Practicing awareness is key.

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But how can I STAY aware?

Well…this won’t happen all at once. It’s a habit and so it begins with smaller steps.

Read on!

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Daytime:

Pause…and prepare to look for a “Trigger Moment” ahead of time. Say your day will include driving in heavy traffic, or maybe dealing with a judgmental coworker, or possibly being confronted with an angry person whose anger actually has nothing to do with you:

These are examples of “Trigger Moments”.

By seeing yourself entering such moments ahead of time mentally, you will be “triggered” to more easily notice them…and this helps you to remember how you wanted to “be the reason” for someone to believe in something like magic, truth etc as Hampton encourages us above.

Visualization ahead of time is an easy way to remind ourselves to be present.

Before you go to sleep:

Pause to review the events of your day where your Trigger Moments occurred.

Review how you “showed up”. Did you behave as planned?

Were there some glitches(!) in the process?

Without judging, note what you felt were successful ventures and which could use a little more time, thought and preparation. What would you change so that when your Trigger Moment happens in the future, you can move in with a different approach?

Journaling…

Keeping a note pad by your bed to jot down key words that motivate you for the next experiences coming your way…(I like using the memo pad in my phone)…

Perhaps sketching a picture…

Creating a mini collage (on a note card) of pictures from a magazine…

Or perhaps recalling (and softly singing!) lyrics to a song that deals with your focus…

Things like these can only help solidify our resolve to notice more, to re-evaluate, to shift and to take action.

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Pause to consider:

How did you “make magic” appear in your day?

For yourself?

For someone else?

How will you do it again…

Tomorrow?