Essential Pause: Leading and Living with Intention- Introduction

This brand-new podcast, created in partnership between Dragon Podcasts and Loyola University, invites you to step into the in-between spaces—where reflection, awareness, and intentional action take root. Guided by Loyola University’s Dr. Carey Borkoski—coach, educator, and researcher—this series opens a thoughtful conversation on how we lead and live with greater clarity and purpose.

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Hello everyone. Welcome to a new podcast called Essential Pause. It is a podcast
about the power of slowing down, noticing, and finding present in a world that constantly
tells us to speed up. My name is Dr. Carey Borcoski. I'm a coach, an educator, researcher,
parent, and an author of a couple of books, including one called Dancing with Discomfort.

(00:27):
This podcast is about practicing presence in a world of constant motion. Each week,
I'll share some stories. I'll have some guest hosts, some additional experts and guests. The
stories will be from my life, their lives, their personal and professional experiences,
from my coaching practice, and from my research and writing. And these stories and ideas will

(00:52):
invite us to pause, to notice, and reflect. Now, when I talk about pausing, I don't just
mean stopping an abrupt sort of stop in our day or in our moment. Essential pauses come in lots of
forms. Sometimes they arrive unexpectedly, like a power outage in the middle of a busy workday that

(01:14):
forces me to close my laptop and spend some time playing in the rain with the kids. Um,
yes, that did and does happen. Other times, I'm learning they're intentional. a moment on a run
when I set aside my music, tune in to my breath, my workout, how I'm feeling in my body, and bring
myself into full presence. And sometimes they're just about slowing down just enough to notice.

(01:44):
It's like capturing this 10 second or even five second snapshot of your surroundings and capturing
it in vivid detail. Really giving your five senses a chance to express or be used to describe that
moment. Over the course of this season, we'll explore these different kinds of pauses together.

(02:10):
We'll talk about how small moments of noticing can shift our perspective, how pausing can help
us stay grounded in discomfort, and how reflection and presence connect to bigger ideas, leadership,
self-awareness, resilience, parenting, all the things. Consider this introductory episode as your

(02:32):
invitation to take a breath, create some space, and discover the power of the essential pause.
My hope with this podcast, Essential Pause, is that it gives you a chance to step back from
the noise, reconnect with what matters, and discover the small, practical ways
you can cultivate self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the stamina to stay present,

(02:58):
even when it's uncomfortable. Before we wrap up today, I'd like to offer a small practice, what
I'll call an essential practice. Each episode will close with one. These practices are simple, short,
and something you can try right away, maybe as you're listening to the pod. So, sometime today,

(03:21):
take 10 seconds to pause and notice. Just look around you and describe either in your mind,
to someone else, to your dog if you're going for a walk, in a notebook. What do you see, hear,
smell, and feel? Capture as many small details in that moment as you can. It doesn't need

(03:45):
to be anything profound. It doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be noticed. That's
it. 10 seconds. A small beginning. All right. So, thanks for joining me today for this short intro.
I hope these ideas, what I'm planning to do in the pod, and these practices help you find

(04:08):
moments of presence in your own life. If you'd like to keep exploring, you can also find some
stories and resources on my Substack, Essential Pause. So, until next time, take a breath,
notice the moment, and just remember the pause is always available to you. See you soon! [Music]