word search: voluntary pause between desire and action

Question

Some years ago, I read that Japanese has a word (or idiomatic expression) that means roughly:

The action of voluntary interposing a pause between the
moment you desire something and the moment you start 
to do something to acquire it.

I was never able to find it again. Does it really exist? If yes, what is it? Is it some jargon word (e.g. religion, philosophy)?

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As @Sawa suggested, I'll try to better define my request. Imagine this sequence:

1. I see a beautiful thing in a shop window.
2. I desire it.
3. I decide to sit down and wait.
4. After some minute, I get up and, in case, I go inside the shop to buy the thing.

I am searching for a word that describe the 3rd step of this sequence.

Answer 1

In this case, I would suggest the idea of 「立ち止まる」（tachidomaru - coming to a stand still.)

I've seen this used by people when they are describing someone who is stopping to think about something; not yet acting (other than stopping whatever action they had been doing beforehand.) It conveys a sense of stopping everything to ponder about the next action one is to take. Potentially for the sake of making a life changing decision.

Here is an example of this phrase in one type of context.

Answer 2

I'm taking a risk here in that I'm not 100% sure, but, we're trying to do answers not comments...

Anyway, a long time ago I used to work in animation at a Japanese company. One of my directors stressed to me the importance of 間{ま}, which he described as the pause a character takes just before a motion. Having just a fraction of a second of pause just before doing something, made characters appear much more natural than just bursting into action.

So I think 間{ま} might be the word you're looking for.

Note that the kanji 間 is usually read あいだ when on it's own, and かん when part of a compound (for example, 時間{じかん}). ま is a rarer reading.

Answer 3

Maybe one of these?

[一]{ひと}呼吸置く
'take one breath'

一歩下がる
'take one step behind'

思いとどまる
'stop and think'

[熟]{じゅく}[慮]{りょ}する
'think intensively'

Or maybe you meant these proverbs?

石の上にも三年
'Stay three years on a rock (until it becomes warm enough to be comfortable).'

石橋を叩いて渡る
'Hit a bridge made of rock before crossing it (to make sure it does not collapse).'

桃栗三年柿八年
'It takes as much as three years for a plum tree or a chestnut tree to blossom, and eight years for a persimmon tree.'

Answer 4

Couldn't this just be

躊躇{ちゅうちょ}する、躊躇{ためら}う to hesitate

? Or would that be too simple? I think it matches the description pretty well... or was this supposed to be some concept very specific to Japan(ese)?