There are at least 30 terms that describe the tempo or speed of a musical piece. The tempo is easy to hear.  We don’t even have to listen carefully for it. It’s the repetitive pulse in the music that we hear and feel physically vibrating through us.

The beat is the sound. The tempo is the speed of the beats, which doesn’t come from the sound, but is actually the space between the sounds. During the spaces, we savor the sound and the feel of the beat. Longer spaces produce a slower tempo; shorter spaces release a quicker tempo. The conductor directs, and we respond. Through music, we are soothed, excited, inspired, incited, calmed and angered.

Life has a tempo, as well. As human beings, we have natural and man-made beats.

Life’s “Natural Beats”

Our natural beats are comprised of what we need.

  • Physical Needs: sleep, food, exercise
  • Mental Needs: learning; using the learned skills
  • Emotional Needs: connection and love
  • Spiritual Needs: meaning and purpose beyond ourselves

Life’s “Man-made Beats”

  • Internal and external expectations
  • Rules and explanations we make up for ourselves
  • Rules other people give us
  • Actions
  • Judgments

Our experience of these beats includes our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs, as well our actions, thoughts and judgments. However, the tempo is our choice. We choose the space between the beats. We are the conductors in our own life. It is up to us to decide the space between the beats.

Too often, we leave little to no space. We rush from activity to thought to activity to judgment without really experiencing, responding or remembering anything. We are constantly bombarded by an increasingly insistent beat, that leaves us angry and exhausted.

Take back the baton!  Become the conductor of your own life. Experience life refreshed and renewed. Leave space between the beats in your life when you integrate some of these ideas!

  • Schedule time between activities
  • Complete a task before starting a new project
  • Ask for help
  • Consolidate activities
  • Plan ahead
  • Focus on one thing at a time
  • Judge yourself kindly
  • Speak slowly and less
  • Hold still and listen more
  • Ask; don’t tell

As we wrap up summer to enter the fall season, how will you place space between the beats in your life?

ABOUT DR. BETH PLACHETKA, LCSW

 THERAPIST FOR ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS

As a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, speaker, adjunct professor in the School of Social Work at Aurora University and president of Safe Harbor Counseling in Sugar Grove, Illinois, Dr. Beth Plachetka, LCSW, MSW, MAEL brings 40 years of experience to helping individuals, families and groups address and resolve psychological, social and interpersonal issues.

Dr. Beth’s expertise in assessing and strengthening relationships is applied in private practice counseling, school social work, teaching, and speaking engagements. As a therapist, Dr. Beth works closely with her clients to help them evaluate their progress and re-chart their course, so they can learn strategies, build confidence and identify support systems to gain the strength and confidence required for lasting change. Contact Dr. Beth for counseling.

SPEAKER FOR ORGANIZATIONS

For organizations to succeed and thrive, strong workplace relationships must be respectful, collaborative and in line with the mission and goals. If professional relationships are poor, it leaves a negative impact on the organization and customers suffer.

Beth’s knowledge of the importance of relationships at work is supported by her dissertation that focuses on adult bullying in the school work setting and by earning her doctorate in curriculum and instruction. Her deep practical knowledge to identify and realign workplace relationships in educational systems and faith institutions provides her with the expertise required to improve team productivity and professional relationships.

Presenting on a variety of topics related to bullying and mental health, Beth uses humor as well as effective and practical strategies to improve workplace culture, counteract the devastation of bullying and mitigate the symptoms that result from workplace bullying. Beth’s presentations reflect her years of experience as a teacher with clearly stated objectives, outcomes, activities and interactions that both inspire and educate.  Contact Dr. Beth to speak at your next event.

With licenses and certificates in elementary education, school social work, clinical social work and educational leadership, her family fondly (at least she hopes it’s fondly) refers to her as “certifiable.”