Responding To Urgency Without Rushing Yourself

This short practice is for moments when something feels urgent, and you feel pressured to respond, decide, or be available straight away. Sometimes the urgency comes from another person. Sometimes it comes from an internal pressure to already have an answer or be able to respond immediately.

This guided pause helps you slow the moment just enough to come back to yourself, notice how urgency shows up in your body, and choose your response rather than reacting under pressure.

You don’t need to relax or resolve anything.
You don’t need to know your final answer.

This is about choosing timing with clarity, instead of being pushed by urgency.

Transcript

Before we begin,

We're going to interrupt the rush for a moment.

This doesn't need to take long and you don't need to feel calm.

Just enough time to be present.

This mini-practice is for times when you feel pressured to respond,

Decide,

Or be emotionally available straight away.

When something lands in your inbox,

Your phone,

Or during a conversation and it suddenly feels urgent,

Often the pressure isn't coming from the situation itself.

Sometimes it comes from another person's urgency,

Which can blur that distinction before we even realize.

And yet,

It may simply show up for you as an internal sense that you should already know,

Already decide,

Or already be able to respond.

So we're going to interrupt that pattern.

First,

Bring to mind a situation where you feel rushed right now.

It could be a message you haven't replied to,

A decision you feel pressed to make,

Or someone wanting more from you than you have right now.

You don't need the details,

Just a sense of it.

Now notice what happens in your body when you imagine responding immediately.

Perhaps there's tightening,

Or your breath or heart rate picking up,

Or a sense of being pushed forward.

Again,

No judgment,

You're just noticing the effect of urgency in your body.

And you don't need to do anything with it yet.

Now here's the key reminder that this practice is built around.

Time is a resource you're allowed to use.

Taking time is not avoidance,

It's not failure,

And it's not unkind.

Often,

The rush to respond is actually an attempt to relieve pressure.

Rather than to make a considered choice.

So let's slow the decision down.

Silently say to yourself,

I don't have to decide this right now.

Notice what shifts when you give yourself that permission.

And now for a practical step.

Ask yourself,

What would change if I gave myself 24 hours?

Not to solve anything,

Just to let your system settle enough to hear yourself more clearly.

If 24 hours feels too long,

Try one hour,

Or even 10 minutes.

Time doesn't have to be dramatic to be effective.

So what does this look like practically?

You might find it helps to have a simple phrase you can come back to.

Something you can say to yourself,

Or say out loud if you need to.

I need some time to think about this.

I'll get back to you later.

I'm not ready to respond yet.

You don't need to explain or justify,

And you can pause before you know what you're going to do.

Notice if any discomfort arises,

As you imagine saying one of these.

That discomfort doesn't mean you're doing something wrong.

It simply means you're interrupting an old familiar pattern.

Now bring your attention back to yourself.

Ask quietly,

If I slow this down,

What becomes clearer?

You might notice a preference,

A limit,

Or simply a sense of steadiness and autonomy returning.

You're not trying to force clarity,

You're allowing it the time it needs.

Before we finish,

Here's one last thing.

Responding quickly is not the same as responding wisely.

Availability isn't something you owe on demand.

You're allowed to take time,

Every time.

That doesn't mean you're leaving things open indefinitely.

It means choosing the timing,

Rather than being pushed by pressure.

When you're ready,

Let your attention widen again,

And take this sense of choice with you into whatever comes next.