You’re not alone, we’re all running.
Sprinting, actually, toward the next milestone, the next best grade, the right connections, the most exciting opportunities. Our culture worships speed, that measures worth, value, and intelligence by numbers, grades, money and more.
But what if the most radical thing you could do right now—the thing that would actually set you up for real, lasting success—is to stop?
You Have Permission to Pause
This isn’t about giving up. This isn’t about falling behind. This is about recognizing that you’re in one of the most critical moments of your life, where decisions actually matter, and giving yourself the space to make them from a place of truth rather than momentum.
You’re probably thinking about your major, your summer internship, what job you want, what connections you need to make. The external checklist is loud and insistent. And I’m not asking you to ignore it.
I’m asking you to pause before you answer it.
Because before you can know what you want, you need to know something far more fundamental: Who are you?
Not who your parents want you to be. Not who your friends expect you to be. Not who Instagram tells you to be.
Who are you?
The Power of the Pause
You may not know this: your body already knows the answer.
We spend enormous amounts of time and energy on mindset—getting into the right mental attitude to do great in an interview, ace the exam, nail the presentation. In other words, we’ve been trained to think from the shoulders up, to rationalize our way through life while completely ignoring another form of intelligence that’s been with us since birth.
Bodyset—the physical and emotional state that informs the mind.
Your body knows your truth. It knows what you feel, what you want, what lights you up and what drains you. It knows when something is right and when it’s wrong. It knows before your mind does. You just haven’t been taught how to listen.
The pause creates space for that listening.
This Is Where Real Success Begins
The world will tell you that pausing is falling behind. That questioning is weakness. That listening to your internal wisdom instead of external expectations is naive.
The world is wrong.
Every person who has built something meaningful, who has created real impact, who has lived with purpose rather than just productivity, they all had to ask themselves this question. Who are you? They all had to pause long enough to hear the answer.
Maybe you’re being called to something that seems a little off or weird to others. Maybe you want to try something different. Maybe you have no idea what you want yet, and that’s exactly why you need to stop and ask.
This isn’t about making a dramatic pivot right now. It’s about starting the inquiry. Because before you blink, college will be done, and you’ll be out in that world. And if you never learned who you are, you’ll spend the next decade, or three, trying to figure it out while juggling responsibilities you can’t pause from.
Now is the time.
Your Invitation
So here it is: Give yourself permission to pause.
To slow down enough to feel what you’re feeling. To notice what your body is telling you. To ask “Who am I?” and sit with whatever answer emerges—or doesn’t emerge yet.
This isn’t weakness. This is wisdom.
This isn’t falling behind. This is getting ahead of a lifetime of misalignment.
This isn’t indulgence. This is essential.
You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to make the perfect choice. You just have to start listening—to yourself, to your truth, to the innate wisdom that’s been there all along.
The world will keep spinning at light speed. Let it.
You pause. You ask. You listen.
That’s where your real journey begins. I’m excited for you!
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Jen Aks is a speaker and coach who helps students build the one skill that actually matters: trusting themselves. Through CAMPUSPEAK, she brings somatic practices to universities so students graduate with more than a degree—they graduate knowing who they are. Learn more at jenaks.com.