Everyday, we are faced with making a multitude of decisions. In order to ensure positive progress, cultivate the healthy habit of learning to respond instead of react to life’s situations. Reacting robs you of your choice. Reprogram your unconscious habits with conscious choosing that will turn your reactions into responses. This will form the foundation for your personal integrity and you will have the freedom to design and create your own future.
Responding Reacting
Deliberate Impulsive
Delayed Immediate
Consciously aware/mindfully present Unconscious/auto pilot
Well thought out/reasoning Emotionally driven/charged
Long term vision/future Short sighted/stuck in past
Focus on resolution Focus on problem
You are in the driver’s seat You become the victim
Acceptance Resistance
Feeling liberated and motivated Feeling shameful and discouraged
Able to move forward with new solutions Remain stuck and repeat same old issues
Own it/your thoughts, feelings & actions Stop making excuses/Stop blaming
Acknowledge your mistake/learn from it Denial /just repeating/re-acting
Make better decisions/ outcomes Fuels disagreements/frustrations
Gain more confidence and positivity Perpetuates fears/panic/negativity
Empower yourself and remember STOP:
S– Stop and take a breathe, literally. Breathing helps you to relax and to see things clearly.
T -Take into consideration your thoughts and emotions. Acknowledge, validate & embrace.
O -Options; consider your options and available solutions.
P -Plan your next course of action by always keeping your eye on the desired outcome/goal.
Responsibility – Your ability to respond. The more you accept responsibility in your life, the more power you will have. By making better choices, you will remain in control of your life. Bottom line, you will always have a choice. Which will you choose?
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Viktor E. Frankl
