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Notice, Pause, Shift, Act

5 min read

Notice, Pause, Shift, Act

Dimension: Mindset · Type: Foundation

A four-step in-the-moment routine for interrupting an automatic, saboteur-driven reaction and choosing a more deliberate response. Daily reps train the new default through neuroplasticity.

Introduced collectively by Mirka Packard (IMO), Lucia Carrera (WFP), and Katarina Posa (IOM) at the Managing Your Saboteurs session of the UN Inter-Agency Career Week 2026, on 6 May 2026. The four steps are adapted from the Positive Intelligence framework by Shirzad Chamine. A free Positive Intelligence self-assessment identifies your dominant saboteurs and is the natural companion to this routine.

The framework

NPSA is a short, repeatable loop you run when a strong negative emotion rises in response to a career situation. It runs in seconds. The point is not to remove the emotion. The point is to insert one moment of choice between the emotion and the action.

When to use it

  • When you feel a strong negative emotion rising (anxiety, irritation, urge to flee, urge to control) and you are about to act on it.
  • Before high-stakes career moves: hitting send on an application, walking into a difficult conversation with a manager, deciding whether to apply to a stretch role.
  • As a daily training routine, applied to small reactions, so the routine is available when the stakes go up.

What you need

Awareness that something has shifted in your inner state. The routine cannot run on autopilot; you have to catch yourself first. A few seconds. The whole sequence can take ten seconds the first time and a single breath after enough repetition.

The four steps

  1. Notice. Identify that you are in saboteur mode. Negative emotion is the first signal. Then name the saboteur: “this is my Pleaser”, “this is my Hyperachiever”, “this is my Judge”. Naming creates distance. You cannot operate from a part of yourself you have not seen.
  2. Pause. Take one or two slow breaths. The pause is short on purpose. The point is not to meditate; it is to break the limbic reaction loop and give the prefrontal cortex a chance to come online.
  3. Shift. Ask a more curious, sage-level question. The structure: replace a closed self-judgment with an open inquiry. “Why am I always like this?” becomes “What is this trying to protect?“. “This is impossible” becomes “What is one small step I could take?“. Curiosity always beats judgment as a starting move.
  4. Act. Take one small, concrete action that is different from your usual saboteur response. The action is small on purpose. The point is not to solve the situation in one move; it is to break the automatic pattern with a single different choice. Send the message. Ask the question. Pause before saying yes. Apply to the role.

Repetition is the mechanism. Every time you run the loop deliberately, you strengthen the new neural pathway. Over months, the new pattern becomes the default.

Worked example

A P-3 programme officer sees a P-4 vacancy that they are 75% qualified for. The Stickler activates: “I do not have the rangeland management certification they list as desirable; I am not the right person; if I apply and fail it will be embarrassing.”

  • Notice. “That is my Stickler talking. The reaction is disproportionate to the actual situation.”
  • Pause. Three slow breaths. Hands off the keyboard.
  • Shift. Replace “I am not qualified” with “What evidence would I bring if I did apply? What is the worst realistic outcome?”
  • Act. Open the vacancy notice and a fresh document. Begin the JD Colour-Coded Breakdown. The decision about whether to apply is now downstream of evidence, not upstream of an emotional reaction.

Pitfalls

  • Skipping the Notice. Without naming the saboteur, the rest of the sequence cannot start. If you cannot say which saboteur is talking, run the Saboteur Catalog until you can.
  • Treating the Pause as a meditation session. A few breaths is enough. Long pauses make the routine feel heavy and you stop using it.
  • Skipping straight to Act. Action without a Shift is just a different version of the same automatic response. The Shift is what makes the new action different in kind, not just in form.
  • Trying to abolish the saboteur. The aim is awareness and choice, not silence. Saboteurs are protective patterns that were once useful; you are training a new response, not killing an old one.
  • Running the loop only on big decisions. Daily small reps are what make the routine reliable when the stakes are high. Use it on minor irritations, not just major moves.

When not to use it

When you are physiologically activated in a way that needs grounding first (panic, dissociation, acute anxiety). The routine assumes you can think; if you cannot, ground first (feet on the floor, longer breath cycles, cold water on hands), then run NPSA when your system has settled.

A note on the source

The four steps come from the Positive Intelligence framework by Shirzad Chamine, adapted for career application by the speakers. The labels (Notice, Pause, Shift, Act) and the underlying neurobiology are core PQ vocabulary; the worked example and the framing for career-week contexts come from the session.

How I use it

Personal note pending. Davide to fill.

  • Saboteur Catalog, the reference page for naming the saboteur in step one.
  • 80 Bucket System, a concrete Shift-and-Act move for the Stickler.
  • Circle of Control, a complementary tool for redirecting energy away from saboteur-amplifying concerns.
  • One-Minute Inner Reset, the body-first variant for moments when thinking your way through is not yet possible.

Notes compiled by Davide Piga. Last updated 2026-05-09.

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