30 Day Challenge Series, Day 27: Pause Before Reacting (10 Seconds)
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:09 — 5.7MB)
Subscribe for information that helps you improve your health and wellness! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Gaana | Podcast Index | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS
In today’s episode, Cheryl shares a simple but powerful habit that can completely change how you handle stress, conflict, and emotional triggers. The focus is on building a short pause between what happens and how you respond, even if it is something small like a frustrating comment, an anxiety spike, or an email that instantly sets you off.
Cheryl explains how taking just 10 seconds can reduce rumination, support more consistent decision-making, and help you respond in a way that aligns with the person you want to be, not just your first impulse. She also offers an easy cue phrase you can use in the moment, plus a beginner-friendly option if 10 seconds feels too hard.
Takeaways
- A short pause helps create space between the stimulus and your response
- Reacting immediately often leads to choices you would not make once you calm down
- This practice can reduce rumination, meaning you replay the moment over and over later
- Pausing works in social situations and in private moments when you feel triggered internally
- Deep breathing during the pause helps settle your body before you respond
- If 10 seconds feels too long, start with 5 seconds and build from there
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Disclaimer: Links may contain affiliate links, which means we may get paid a commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through this page. Read our full disclosure here.
CONNECT WITH CHERYL
Shop all my healthy lifestyle favorites, lots of discounts!
21 Day Fat Loss Kickstart: Make Keto Easy, Take Diet Breaks and Still Lose Weight
Avaline Wines, Tested and Clean, Sugar Free
Wild Pastures, Clean Meat to Your Doorstep 20% off for life
Clean Beauty 20% off first order
NIRA at Home Laser for Wrinkles 10% off or current promo with code HealNourishGrow
Instagram for daily stories with recipes, what I eat in a day and what's going on in life
The Shoe Fairy Competition Gear
Getting Started with Keto Resources
The Complete Beginners Guide to Keto
Getting Started with Keto Podcast Episode
Getting Started with Keto Resource Guide
Episode Transcript
Cheryl McColgan (00:00)
Hey everyone, I'm Cheryl McColgan, founder of Heal Nurse Grow and welcome to day 20.
I call it a practice because this one is tough sometimes. It's something that I have been practicing for a long time in my own life. And that is to today, your habit is to pause before reacting for 10 seconds. So a great example of this is usually
better word triggers you or makes you anxious or makes you frustrated. And you may want to just react in that moment. And quite often what you'll find is if you just take a pause, a couple deep breaths are useful here as well, but take a pause, give yourself a moment to think, give yourself a moment to feel where that comment or conflict or whatever it was, where it landed in your body, where you're feeling it and just take a deep breath and then respond.
And so why this is good.
And it's going to reduce rumination, which is that idea that you just keep playing something over and over in your head. All of this is going to support consistency and create a space between the stimulus and the response. And this usually leads to better choices or better interactions. Another thing, you know, I'm talking about reacting with someone else, but it could also be that you're alone. It's a personal thing that you're just reacting to in the moment. So that's a
time to again, take some time, take a deep breath and just let it settle and figure out what you're really thinking about it rather than just your initial knee jerk response. Because it could come in the form of an email or something that just happens to you and you're just anxious and caught up in the moment. Just give yourself a beat. Pause, breathe, and then choose. That's like a cue phrase. So along with this habit today to take that pause, think of pause, breathe, and choose.
what I like to do with a pause. And it's funny that my my ex actually noticed this about me which I thought was pretty perceptive because if you would say something that was
A heavy sigh like.
and then just breathe a couple times and then I would respond. So maybe you don't want to make it so audible or so obvious because this person in my life did notice this, but you could even say, you know, your thing about pause, breathe, then choose. It could be even a choice to say, I need a moment to think this over. I may need a moment to process this. Something like that that gives you just the time.
to go ahead and take that deep breath and to give it some reflection before responding. So if 10 seconds seems too long to you, let's start with five, as this challenge has gone the whole way.
make yourself work towards up towards bigger habits, bigger goals, you know, everything like that. The small things will just make it seem more simple and less stressful on you. So if 10 seconds is too long, go for five. As always, the research will be in the email and in the tracker and you can join at any time by going to healnursegro.com. So if you find whatever you find it in the future, please join and you'll get to take advantage of learning all these fun
new things that can help you get to your goals. So I will see you again tomorrow.
