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Pause: Harnessing the Life-Changing Power of Giving Yourself a Break
Feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or stuck? Discover the power of the pause. Sometimes life throws you for a loop. You’re stressed out at your job; you’re torn between work and family; your motivation and productivity are taking a nosedive. Your impulse might be to lean in and tough it out, but what you may really need to do is take a step back. Reassess your life with a clear head and dive back in with purpose and poise. In this enlightening book, Rachael O’Meara guides you through the steps of your own pause The signs that you’re in need of a meaningful break- Planning your optimal pause—whether it’s as short as a day or as long as an epic journey- Reentering the world with renewed clarity and purpose. Incorporating the latest findings from psychology and neuroscience and peppered with inspiring stories of successful pauses, this book will show you that the fastest way to happiness is to slow down. Whether you pause by taking a five-minute walk outside, spending a day unplugged from digital devices, or taking a few weeks off to yourself, Pause will give you the tools to find what “lights you up” and the ability to lead the most satisfying and fulfilling life you choose.As seen in The Washington Post.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2017
117 people are currently reading
1090 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 31, 2017
I wish I'd read "Pause" when I was in high school taking 16 APs, leading three orchestras, and volunteering 500 hours at the LA Zoo, or at UC Berkeley, where I tried to build three businesses while running a club with 500+ members and taking a full course load. Instead of taking time to pause, reflect, and reassess, I found myself repeatedly running head-first into walls and crashing. I made ridiculous decisions like staying home to study while the rest of my family took a vacation in Hawaii. You never get that time back. They made memories together that I'll never be able to share.
If you find yourself crashing, feeling unfulfilled, or know someone in that situation, you have to get a copy of "Pause." It's a transformative read.
If you find yourself crashing, feeling unfulfilled, or know someone in that situation, you have to get a copy of "Pause." It's a transformative read.
June 4, 2017
I received this advanced copy through the Goodreads Giveaway program. If you have the time, money, and resources to set out on an existential journey to evaluate your life, purpose, and vocation, the concept of pausing life to do so is very appealing, and you should read this book. I like the concept of pausing, and several of the more immediate pausing activities and mindfulness exercises really resonated with me. I had wished there was more material related to pausing while maintaining ones everyday life. IAm sure there will be those who love this book, and will be able to carry out its intent. Right now, I'm not at that place.
June 16, 2017
I like the idea of this book, but the information and advice is rather pat. Pretty much a regurgitation of other self-help type books, written by a Google manager who I suspect is pretty well off. Might have appreciated this more in my 30s perhaps, but who can just quit their job and step away from their lives in order to reassess? A better take on the subject of meaning and creativity is Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way.
June 7, 2017
Although there are some good suggestions, overall the suggestions are unrealistic for the average person. Most of the examples involve getting away for weeks, months, or years. Don't bother reading if you are short on cash or raising a family. I would have like more ideas about finding pause within my current life. This maybe should have been called "reset."
April 4, 2017
“Relevant, engaging, and actionable, Rachael O’Meara’s PAUSE: HARNESSING THE LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF GIVING YOURSELF A BREAK helps readers align their inner vision with their outer reality. Count on the fact that I will prescribe the wisdom in PAUSE to my clients.”
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November 20, 2018yet another stereotypical self-help book...
April 10, 2017
So many great points in this book about why to pause and how. Definitely had the "oh you Google people and your benefits" vibe, but Rachael gave many other examples in the book beyond her own life. I'll be coming back to this one, definitely! Like someone else says - wish I had this book when I was 17!
January 10, 2020
Pause offers tips and guidance on taking a sabbatical from work and starting a practice that allows and encourages you to be more intentional about what to do with your life next. O'Meara offers a little bit for people who can only take a day or two, but I'd say the bulk the book's advice is focused on people who are able to take extended breaks -- like, longer than a week -- to physically remove themselves from their routine.
The context here is essential and explains why I have a really hard time with a lot of self-help books. At the time of the book's publication, I believe O'Meara had a years-long career at Google and no kids, and she was essentially given the option to take a sabbatical and find another role at Google instead of getting fired. She was able to take three months of unpaid leave, during which she learned the art of the pause and came up with the idea of this book. Very, very few people will have this kind of privilege, and so I think much of the advice in this book will apply to very, very few people.
I came to this book as someone who was recently laid off and looking at this as an opportunity to pivot, and I did find some of the advice here helpful and affirming, but there was only one small section that directly applied to this situation. And again, it starts from the assumption that you have money to not have to look for a job right away.
Outside of that, this book is basically about how to take a mental vacation, and it was too long. The content was repetitive and the book had too many buzzy concepts. I do think the idea of taking a pause is important, and this idea should absolutely be evangelized with young people, but it may give a wonky impression of what the real working world is like.
The context here is essential and explains why I have a really hard time with a lot of self-help books. At the time of the book's publication, I believe O'Meara had a years-long career at Google and no kids, and she was essentially given the option to take a sabbatical and find another role at Google instead of getting fired. She was able to take three months of unpaid leave, during which she learned the art of the pause and came up with the idea of this book. Very, very few people will have this kind of privilege, and so I think much of the advice in this book will apply to very, very few people.
I came to this book as someone who was recently laid off and looking at this as an opportunity to pivot, and I did find some of the advice here helpful and affirming, but there was only one small section that directly applied to this situation. And again, it starts from the assumption that you have money to not have to look for a job right away.
Outside of that, this book is basically about how to take a mental vacation, and it was too long. The content was repetitive and the book had too many buzzy concepts. I do think the idea of taking a pause is important, and this idea should absolutely be evangelized with young people, but it may give a wonky impression of what the real working world is like.
April 10, 2017
I am much older than the author of Pause and perhaps not the target audience for the book. The book has many useful ideas and constructive actions that anyone can use to reflect, rest and rejuvenate either the next hour or a life. In fact the author present well over a hundred actions or ideas that you can use to put a pause on your time/life. After reading the first few chapter and being overwhelmed and exhausted with the complexity of pausing, the overarching purpose of the book was obscured over and over by the proliferation of ideas, stories each suggesting a new way to pause. Coming to grip with hardship, burn-out, unexpected setbacks, anxiety, and fear is a life-long challenge as the author points out.
The author is best in telling her personal story of her pause from Google. As a teacher who has hosted over 170 successfully leaders tell their story to college students, after a while, you realize that part of "success" is being able to see beyond yourself and into yourself. How we do this is as Ms. O'Meara writes is highly personal - hence the complexity of her ideas to address various types of pauses. She is most effective discussing taking action in the moment to reflect, to slow down, to disconnect, to pause. Realizing the kind of pause needed right now is easiest when our purpose is bent toward an eternal destiny which God can only offer.
The author is best in telling her personal story of her pause from Google. As a teacher who has hosted over 170 successfully leaders tell their story to college students, after a while, you realize that part of "success" is being able to see beyond yourself and into yourself. How we do this is as Ms. O'Meara writes is highly personal - hence the complexity of her ideas to address various types of pauses. She is most effective discussing taking action in the moment to reflect, to slow down, to disconnect, to pause. Realizing the kind of pause needed right now is easiest when our purpose is bent toward an eternal destiny which God can only offer.
October 18, 2018
This book was on sale for a dollar, so I bought it. It would have been better if more successful at helping people self-evaluate what kinds of pauses they can take for their circumstances. I found the advice hard to follow logically and repetitive. It was very difficult to identify with the different examples of people who took time off from work. Many had high paying jobs and saved to spend time not working and regain their sense of self or purpose. The author tries to include tips for pauses that don't require living off of savings, mostly centered around mindfulness principles and separating oneself from technology. Overall the book is just OK (hence the 2*). I don't think I would recommend it unless you plan to spend time (either by choice or circumstance) not working. She did get a part time gig as a bike tour guide while not working at her job. She does talk about negotiating with employers. She shares how much people saved. She gives some details on what people did and the ultimate results.
August 28, 2019
Ugh! This book is not written for the general public. This is written for people that are in the exact same boat as the author. I would recommend this to young, single people, that are financially stable enough to quit their job, with no other income to support them, while they go on a vacation to find themselves.
However, the majority of people are not going too fall into that micro-category.
If you are not young and overly privileged, then you will find this book very annoying and pretentious. The author even goes as far to say that she anticipates her idea of taking a "pause" will be integrated into everyday conversation.
I would not recommend this book to anyone, even those that fall into the micro-category this book was written for. It gives false ideas of what real life if like. Most people that take a pause like the author mentioned would send themselves into extreme debt and possibly end up homeless.
However, the majority of people are not going too fall into that micro-category.
If you are not young and overly privileged, then you will find this book very annoying and pretentious. The author even goes as far to say that she anticipates her idea of taking a "pause" will be integrated into everyday conversation.
I would not recommend this book to anyone, even those that fall into the micro-category this book was written for. It gives false ideas of what real life if like. Most people that take a pause like the author mentioned would send themselves into extreme debt and possibly end up homeless.
February 19, 2018
Just one more in a line of well-off, childless, women writing a book telling us how tough they've had it and how they now know the secret to really having it all.
As a sales executive at Google, O'Meara's life is undoubtedly hectic. However, she only seems to write about her own kind of hectic.
All of the "inspiring stories of successful pauses" in the book relate to executives that took time off to "follow their passion".
If you are an overworked single executive with paid leave time and sufficient funds to give yourself a break by hiring household help, and taking off on an extended (she suggests multi-month) vacation to "pause" and clear your mind, then you might be able to take something away from this book.
However, if you have family responsibilities, and can't afford to take months off from work, then this isn't worth the $20 (Cdn) cover price.
As a sales executive at Google, O'Meara's life is undoubtedly hectic. However, she only seems to write about her own kind of hectic.
All of the "inspiring stories of successful pauses" in the book relate to executives that took time off to "follow their passion".
If you are an overworked single executive with paid leave time and sufficient funds to give yourself a break by hiring household help, and taking off on an extended (she suggests multi-month) vacation to "pause" and clear your mind, then you might be able to take something away from this book.
However, if you have family responsibilities, and can't afford to take months off from work, then this isn't worth the $20 (Cdn) cover price.
April 4, 2018
Magical!
I got halfway through the copy I borrowed from the library before deciding that I needed to own this. The book's message is simple, with great strategies to use whether you have tons of money to blow on a long term break or a few bucks for a mini-break, or no money at all. I plan on implementing several of these (particularly the digital breaks) immediately.
I got halfway through the copy I borrowed from the library before deciding that I needed to own this. The book's message is simple, with great strategies to use whether you have tons of money to blow on a long term break or a few bucks for a mini-break, or no money at all. I plan on implementing several of these (particularly the digital breaks) immediately.
May 16, 2018
The author suggests "pausing" as a way to find who you are meant to be and what you are meant to do and to realize that this may all evolve over time.
Pauses can be a minute or a year or something in between. They are meant to help you know yourself and what you need.
Pauses can be a minute or a year or something in between. They are meant to help you know yourself and what you need.
January 24, 2022
I listened to this book on CD. It has quite a bit of information about taking a break from your work life, and expanding your world through traveling, learning something new, writing a book, or taking extended leave to accomplish a project. The author gives ideas for taking time off even for those employees whose employer does not offer time off. Some employers give paid time off for those employees who have worked for a company for a longer period of time.
I love all of the stories about people who have paused and took extended time and what they did with that time. She also shows how those experiences help employees to expand their knowledge and awareness and how that will help when they return to work. It’s an interesting read.
I love all of the stories about people who have paused and took extended time and what they did with that time. She also shows how those experiences help employees to expand their knowledge and awareness and how that will help when they return to work. It’s an interesting read.
June 25, 2017
In this book "pausing" falls under the broader category of mindfulness. The author took a leave of absence from Google in order to sort out the next steps after receiving critical job reviews. Although few of us have the opportunity or money to take a 3 month sabbatical, her everyday applications are sound and practical. There is a lot of territory covered under such a simple subject. But simplicity is often the most difficult to achieve. In this case, there is self- introspection and emotional monitoring to guide our paths forward. If you believe in intuition and divine guidance then this book validates both.
December 25, 2020
An interesting read all about the power of how being able to stop and take a pause in our lives can sometimes be the best way to re-set our minds and refocus and assess where to from here. It has some great examples of how Pauses have worked in helping people going through life crises or when they feel trapped/lost/directionless. ⭐⭐⭐#pause #rachaelo'meara #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #greatreads #bookqueen #litsy #mindfulness #amazonkindle
April 4, 2021
Some good ideas in this book all exploring the benefits of taking a pause, obviously. Stories within vary from rich people going traveling for a year to a family switching off from technology on every Saturday. The benefits are evident of course as distance allows one to reflect and re-evaluate, leading to clearer ideas and direction in life and working environment. Not much of its content was new really, and much quite expected, but a new perspective I'd say.
June 13, 2018
I appreciate the effort and I like the idea of the book. However, I couldn’t finish it. It is just the writer’s career story and personal experience with burnout while trying to be a helpful to the reader but it sort of sounded like the author’s personal journal and she was writing some cathartic entries. I do not think I would recommend it.
July 30, 2018
The author suggests that when you are feeling very stressed and you think that you have to get more done in less time, the best thing to do is to pause. By pausing, you allow your mind and body to take a break. When you do go back to your challenges, you are refreshed and can better cope with your challenges.
November 20, 2018
Many people suffer "burnout", waking up dreading another day at their office, so this book makes us reflect to take a pause. Basically, taking a break is not just about "relaxing" but rather a chance to evaluate your life and really understand what you want and need, leading us to live a life that is more adapted to who we really are.
November 10, 2019
rounding up to 3 stars but it's really more like 2.5
this has some good ideas and articulates some stuff about how you can incoporate taking pauses from daily life, but it seems to be wrapped up in this bigger idea that people should be taking these long breaks from work to find themselves and i just... don't personally find that super practical or helpful.
this has some good ideas and articulates some stuff about how you can incoporate taking pauses from daily life, but it seems to be wrapped up in this bigger idea that people should be taking these long breaks from work to find themselves and i just... don't personally find that super practical or helpful.
January 23, 2018
This book had some good points about pausing and being mindful but most of the suggestions are not practical for my life. I can't just quit my job and take a 90-day sabbatical with out worrying about cash and I guess most people can't do that either. ;)
August 19, 2018
Over all I enjoyed this book. I will say that some of the "pause" moments (or years) mentioned in this book were beyond what I as a middle-aged married woman with three children would even consider, but the ideas of the book have truly helped me to transform my thinking.
November 29, 2018
This felt mostly obvious to me, but I can see how it could be helpful for those who need the reminder that it's OK to stop for a few minutes and assess where they are, how they've gotten there, and where they want to go.
September 17, 2017
Great book!
June 11, 2018
Disappointing. Apparently I missunderstood the description of what this book is about. Wasn't what I was looking for. Got about halfway and didnt finish it
August 7, 2018
Will be buying after getting from the library!
January 1, 2019
well laid out, plenty of examples and testimonials, suggestions for putting ideas into action
December 5, 2020
I read this book at the right time in life, and it’s super empowering that it got me through that dark period. For that reason, I give it a 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews