Maria Gonzalez Blog
Mindful Leadership

Mindful Leadership – Tip: Practice Widening the Gap Between Stimulus and Response

Below is a wonderful quote by Albert Einstein. The message is “Pause to Wonder”.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, his eyes are closed.”

When we pause to wonder we are deliberately widening the gap between stimulus and response. In the moment in which we have paused and become completely present in the moment, we see the true beauty in front of us, we hear what is really being said, we become aware of the mystery before us. In that gap is the place from which all inspiration arises.

So take a moment now, if you can, and pause to wonder… just notice this moment. For the next 30 or 60 seconds or as long as you wish, notice your body; notice your breath; notice the person(s) in front of you; notice what is outside your window…just notice; change nothing. By making this a habit, for merely seconds at a time, in your day, you will make “pausing to wonder” a habit and in so doing widen the gap between stimulus and response.