Stopping isn't giving up. It's the first step to getting back on your feet.
As the great Vanesa Martín sings in her song "Descubrí":
"Sometimes life improvises, it messes you up and spills your ink.”
And it's true, isn't it? There are times when life shakes us up. It throws us into disarray, inside and out. It changes our plans, what we have, and who we are.
There are moments when everything goes off-script, and we get the feeling that we have lost control. That some external, uncontrollable force is calling the shots, doing as it pleases. Without knowing quite how it happened, the only thing you feel is that you're no longer in charge.
These are moments of great uncertainty that can appear after a string of "disastrous" situations, or, quite simply, when we are at our most relaxed. Like when, after a stressful week, the weekend finally arrives and we fall ill. It's because our body's defences are down, and it has taken control. It has decided to speak. And it does so through pain, exhaustion, or that overwhelming urge to cry for no reason, born from all the accumulated feelings that are now bubbling to the surface. It's just asking us to stop, to rest. To tell us: "that's enough" or "either you stop, or I'll stop you."
Pause to heal
When the current drags you under
I am sure that you, just like me, have been through moments like this. Moments when you feel overwhelmed, when you have done everything humanly possible, but the results just are not what you hoped for. Moments when the inner noise gets louder, your body tenses up, sleep escapes you, and your mind fills with thoughts that spin on a loop. It all feels like chaos, with no direction.. But that chaos, as painful as it is, is also part of the process.
We have been taught to resist, to swim against the current, to never give up. But there are times when fighting only exhausts you more. I learned this on a lifeguarding course I took years ago: if a current pulls you under, the worst thing you can do is fight against it. The best thing you can do is let yourself be carried until you find a firm point to grab onto and pull yourself out.
When facing a whirlwind, you do not survive by resisting, but by staying calm and going with the flow.
Life works in the same way. When everything gets too much, when you have tried everything and you feel you cannot go on, stop fighting. Allow yourself to float. Find that anchor point: a friendship, a professional, a moment of calm, a safe space. From there, you can gather your strength, build momentum, and start again.
Pausing is prevention. Pausing is self-care.
We are afraid to stop. Society has led us to believe that pausing is failure. That if we are not producing or advancing, we are not worthy. But that is not true.
Pausing is not failure. Failure is not trying, and you have tried a thousand times.
Pausing is not giving up; it is about trusting. Trusting that you have the resources within you to heal, to recharge your energy, to rebuild from a place of calm.
To pause is to listen to yourself, to observe, to focus on the here and now. It's the first step to getting back on your feet.
I was slow to learn this. I ignored my body's signals and ended up paying the price: months of recovery, too many surgeries, immense frustration... until I understood that pausing was not a luxury, but a necessity. That my body was not betraying me; it was screaming something I did not want to hear. Since then, I have learned to honour my pauses, to see that silence is also action, and that resting is also moving forward.
And that is why I want to share this with you: so that you do not have to learn it through pain.
The importance of asking for help and giving yourself permission.
We all need a support system. Sometimes it is an honest conversation with someone close; other times it is the professional eye of someone who can help you see what you can not.
Recognising that you can not do it alone does not make you weak; it makes you human..
Asking for help is an act of self-love. It is about acknowledging your limits and opening the door to a more conscious version of yourself.
And that, far from taking away your strength, returns it to you tenfold.
Every now and then, we should all hang a sign on our door that says "Busy," "Under renovation," or "Updating version."
Allow yourself the luxury of pausing without guilt.
Of saying "I can't today," "I need to rest today," "I need to listen to myself today." That honesty with yourself is the starting point for any real change.
Because stopping is also moving forward
It is the space where the soul breathes and the mind resets. Where the clarity that was buried under the constant noise of 'doing' is born.
Towards a new version of you
Every pause is an opportunity to rebuild yourself from a different place.
It is not about going back to who you were, but about discovering who you are now.
Crises transform us, they cleanse us, they reorder us. And when you decide to get back on your feet, you are not the same person. You are wiser, more conscious, more you.
So, if you feel today that you can not go on, remember: you do not have to do it all, or do it all right now. You just need to breathe, let go, and trust. Because what feels like an ending today might just be the beginning of your new version.
And you,
