Pause and Look Around
Whenever you leave one location and enter another it is worth taking a moment to pause and look around. This gives your mind and body a moment to adjust to new stimuli, and also allows you to reorient to your new surroundings. It is also a good situational awareness practice.
When you pause and look around, life becomes a little bit easier because you are more prepared to respond to what is happening around you.
By taking a brief moment to scan your surroundings you can:
- Check your new environment for both obstacles and opportunities
- Identify friends or foes (most likely of the social variety)
- Build confidence by collecting your thoughts so you can be prepared to engage with people and the environment
- Adapt to the situation by adjusting your approach, behavior, or intent to match the context you find yourself
Sometimes taking a pause and looking around just gives you a buffer of time in which to take a breath, express some gratitude, or brace yourself for what comes next.
Other times it can alert you to a potential hazard before it becomes an actual threat.
My favorite “pause and look around” moment usually happens when I first leave the house in the morning. I take a deep breath, look around to scan my surroundings, and head off to face the day with confidence.
Try it today. Whenever you enter or leave somewhere, take a moment to pause and look around.
