When children misbehave we punish them by putting them in a time-out. This usually involves having the child go sit quietly alone in order to calm themselves and depending on the age, reflect upon their behavior.

But what about grown-ups? Do we sometimes need a time-out too? Have you ever felt that your world is spinning out of control at a moment and you became angry, belligerent and insolent? Have you ever felt hurt, lonely, afraid, and uncertain? If you are human, I am sure you have felt many of these feelings. Sometimes we don’t know the answers to our problems. Sometimes we don’t understand our problems. In an effort to solve our problems, we sometimes create more problems by not taking the time to deal with our issues at hand. Avoidance of our problems often manifest in behaviors such as excessive indulgence in alcohol, drugs, sex, over-spending, lying, cheating and being neglectful of our responsibilities to ourselves and others. We often end up not only hurting ourselves in the process but damaging our relationships with the people that we claim to be important in our lives.

It is in the midst of our pain that we sometimes have to call a time-out. There is no one to punish us and tell us we need a time-out. Most people will not tell you when you are self-destructing and it is highly likely you are not willing to listen to the few who may tell you. Even when we know we need to stop, sometimes we are afraid to because that means admitting that we have a problem.

We all have problems. That’s life. That’s okay. It’s also okay to take a time-out. We sometimes need a time-out to listen to our inner voice (called intuition) that guides us. Sometimes we already know the answers to our questions and the solutions to our problems, but we won’t just stop and listen. We don’t have to always do something. Sometimes we first need to stop, listen, and think before we do.