Red Traffic Light to Stop and Pause

In this latest series, we are covering traffic signs as the connector between life and human behavior.

The previous post covered the Give Way sign as a reminder to give respect to yourself and others.

For the next three weeks, we will review a very important, very visible sign, spotted everywhere from busy City Business Districts (CBDs) to rural and remote areas. This is the traffic light. You know these as the red, amber/yellow, and green (or in some cases blue) lights. In that order we will cover significant content for each light, to correlate with a behavior.

We will start with the red light. Covering what is it, does it differ in countries, and then moving to what the red light teaches in our human behavior.

What is the Purpose of the Red Traffic Light?

The short answer is to stop.

The medium answer is to forcefully stop one flow of traffic to allow another flow of traffic to start.

Does the Red Traffic Light’s Purpose Differ?

For the most part, no. The red traffic light is known as a stop sign across most parts of the world. The shape or look of the traffic light may differ. When you travel the onus is on you to learn the traffic rules for that country, state, or region.

Read more about traffic rules in the USA here, in Europe here, in Australia here. With the Australian link scroll down to find the state needed, then follow to the website suggested to learn the needed rules.

Much as we’ve covered with the soft and hard rules or you’ll remember the yellow or white boundary lines, the same is true with red lights. Although the meaning is to stop as a hard rule, the exception is once again to permit an emergency vehicle to pass.

So far, we’ve covered the purpose of the red traffic light and if it differs from country to region. We’ve discovered the red traffic light means to stop. Now we’ll continue to find out how this stop is relevant in everyday life.

Connecting the Red Traffic Light to Human Behavior

There are a few connections to make considering the red light stop meaning.

1. To take the stop literally, and stop for a moment in reality
2. To pause momentarily.
3. To breathe.
4. To defend your position or instruct warning of the boundary line.

1) To Stop Literally

Whatever you are doing, presumably at the moment you are reading this blog article. Now Stop!

That is how to take this post literally. Just come to a complete stop. Please continue to breathe!

Occasionally, you might spot others STOP literally. For example, older generations, have a clear direction and purpose then stop suddenly between rooms. Previously I’ve seen and heard of aging parents and grandparents say in these moments, “I don’t know whether I was going or coming from somewhere and where I was headed.” Sometimes we might laugh at this statement, and while the person has forgotten where they were headed, the fact remains they have stopped.

Stopping is a way to catch up with oneself.

Stopping is a way to clear the mind.

Stopping is something we all do, and not just in the traffic.

And for some of us, we stay stopped far longer than we care to admit! Another word for staying stopped is stuck. This links us to the next point. A stop for pause.

2) To Pause Momentarily

When you are in the traffic and the light turns red you are required to stop. It doesn’t matter if you are first in the lineup to stop, or if you’re just joining the group to stop. Everyone is required to stop. You cannot proceed because the car in front of you is stopped.

Likewise, when working on a group task when one person stops the momentum to follow is others stopping. Just like in the traffic.

When one person is stuck, it can cause a group of people to become stuck. The circumstances may differ, but the object remains. We as humans easily get stuck.

Now think about it, are you really stuck? Just because you were required to stop, does that automatically mean you are stuck?

No.

At the traffic lights, your car has come to a stop and you are holding it there with the brake. But what you are honestly doing is pausing. If you decide to pick your foot off the brake the car (depending on where it is sitting) will most likely move. So what is actually happening is you are holding your ground. You are pausing for effect. You are waiting.

This pause is something that happens in everyday life. We wait for the light to go green. We wait for others to catch up on the project, we wait for a delivery. We wait for the school bell to ring.

In the car, you might see people stop and start rummaging in the bag next to them. The car is stopped and complying yet the person is doing something. Some people might jam out their favorite song at a stop signal. Others might use the opportunity to call someone (thank goodness for voice assistance, am I right?)

The point is some things can continue even though one aspect of you is stopped, or paused.

And while you are stopped, it is a good chance to breathe more, allow the oxygen to invigorate your brain, and come up with a better plan.

3) Breathe!

When we stop, we allow the body to catch up. Much like I covered in the above point: To Stop Literally.

A common psychological practice given from young children through to adults is to stop and breathe. Typically when something is overwhelming your heart rate will increase, your stress will increase, and your ability to think well (rationally or logically) will decrease. To improve this reaction you need to stop and breathe.

There are many breathing exercises available and it’s important to find the one most suitable for your situation/or self.

A few of my favorites are the Triangle breathing. You inhale for 3 seconds, hold for 3 seconds, release for 3 seconds. Then repeat. Doing this for about a minute or 6-7 reps is a good amount of time to utterly slow down the anxiety-driven heart race.

Another method is to do 3 deep breaths and then move. My psychologist instructed this method as a means to help unlock my frozen feet from the floor when triggered by past traumas. He instructed me to practice breathing deeply 3 times in a row and telling myself to walk. (Yes, he also said practicing such a thing may feel silly, but it is very worthwhile). And, yes, I felt silly. But in the heat of the moment when the anxiety-driven heart race would begin after seeing or hearing a trigger the automatic effect from the 3 deep breaths forced my body to move.

I relate this in the same way to the emergency vehicle approaching a sea of stopped cars. The emergency vehicle MUST get through. And that sea of cars must start to move. The red light is telling the drivers what they MUST do, yet the emergency vehicle is overriding.

The traumatic trigger in your life may try to tell you what to do, and cause you to stop in fear. But the emergency air supply is coming in hard and fast to tell you how to move to safety.

This moves us to our final point, how stopping is a way to defend yourself.

4) Defend Yourself

Who here is a parent, guardian, or carer? What is the first thing you teach children to do to defend themselves from the attacks of others? Often the answer is to hold your hand up firmly with a strong arm and say STOP.

This body language effect shows and matches the words spoken.

I am telling you to stop, and you will not cross over me.

Sometimes we need a red light or a stop because something dangerous may lie ahead. Think on the road to the sharp corners where the guard rail is to stop cars from sweeping over the edge of the road to the canyon below. That guardrail and additional signage is essentially the firm hand-up stating STOP.  

Purposeful Stopping

A friend of mine who suffered severe domestic violence said in her journey to overcome the stresses and fear. She found a disregarded old traffic sign at a market. Can you guess which traffic sign it was? Yep, that’s right, the STOP sign. She placed the sign in her kitchen as a constant reminder to STOP.

She found her mind often racing with fears and thoughts and her kitchen was the place of highest traffic in her home. Each time she entered the kitchen the huge stop sign reminded her to do just that: STOP.

As time went on, she found a way to reduce the anxiety and overwhelm and to live a happy life.

Try It This Week!

Find something to work as your red light to STOP you purposefully.

Remember, stopping is important to:

• Pause
• Wait
• Regather yourself
• Gain information
• Rest
• Move forward with more force!