"This problem is urgent because I have seen too many colleagues and friends suffer serious health consequences in the name of productivity. A new research study in the UK and Australia reports that our behaviors are driven by habits and not conscious intention 65% of the time. We all understand that sustaining peak performance over time requires regular maintenance rests, but forming new habits and disrupting old habits will require intentionality, artistic vision, and a combination of diverse tools."
"But pausing regularly to check my course and track my priority in this modern landscape of contingencies is crucial for my larger goals. A break is not checking social media - it is assessing whether I have gone off course or spent too much time fixating on a single problem. A break can create the negative space for more definition. It can aerate and integrate my thoughts, keeping them from stagnating."
Belief in taking regular breaks often fails to translate into action, producing a paradox where people neglect health despite valuing rest. Habits, rather than conscious intention, drive behavior about 65% of the time. Sustaining peak performance requires regular maintenance rests and intentional disruption of entrenched routines. Breaks function as opportunities to reassess course, track priorities, and create negative space that aerates and integrates thoughts. Breaks should not mean checking social media but evaluating focus and avoiding fixation. Combining diverse tools, intentionality, and artistic vision supports habit change. Pauses yield long-term payoff and reconnect identity with others, the world, and self.
Read at Psychology Today
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