article_snippet: But now a brilliant new book, 4 Seconds, by best-selling leadership coach Peter Bregman, promises to help you break this bad habit once and for all, thanks to a seductively simple technique.
article_snippet: All of these situations could be avoided with just a moment’s pause to consider the consequences of We actions and make a better choice.
article_snippet: The secret to making good decisions that can simplify your life is always to take a single breath — lasting four seconds — before acting.
article_snippet: It may sound incredibly simple, but that pause has been proven to be all the time you need to reign back your impulses and find the presence of mind to make the smartest choice.
article_snippet: The secret to making good decisions can be a single breath lasting four seconds.
article_snippet: The pause this takes may be all the time you need to find the presence of mind to make a good choice (picture posed by model)
article_snippet: A four-second break teaches you old-fashioned self-control.
article_snippet: Each time you manage A four-second break, you will be proving to yourself that temptation is only a suggestion.
article_snippet: In the four seconds, try to see another way you could respond to the situation at hand.
article_snippet: Even when you know that taking that four-second pause can help prevent you from making poor decisions, you may find bad habits get in the way of good decisions.
article_snippet: Make a decision about something you want to do during the four seconds and don’t question a decision about something you want to do during the four seconds.
article_snippet: Make a decision during the four seconds and don't question a decision later (picture posed by model)
article_snippet: Instead, make a pact in your four seconds to race through the next phase of work.
article_snippet: Take four seconds to listen to yourself.
highlights_snippet: In new book 4 Seconds, Peter Bregman explains how to get out of ruts .
  
highlights_snippet: Says take one breath lasting four seconds before making any decision .