We can have a tendency to react, rather than respond.
What is the difference, you ask?
I’m so glad you did 😉…the difference is the space between a stimulus (any event, incident, comment, action) and your response.
“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.” - Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl
What’s a real-life example of this?
I’m so lucky, I have an example to share that happened right now! As I’m sitting at my desk writing this, my son is doing his IXL math homework on his iPad (3rd grade) and I’m hearing him make these guttural sounds of frustration which I am not only hearing — I am literally feeling his frustration in my body. He’s interrupting me, and being negative — two things that drive me 🥜.
My REACTION could be to yell at him. 😡 I really do not like being interruptedwhen I’m in the middle of working or writing something.
My RESPONSE could be to inhale deeply, exhale — to take a momentary pause 😌— and then get up, walk over to him and ask him what is wrong.
I'll let you guess what I chose to do this morning (hint: there is a clue in there)!
How do we choose to RESPOND rather than REACT?
There are many ways to support yourself in developing the capacity to respond; the one I will share today is Taking a Deep Breath. Giving yourself an extra few seconds and calming yourself with your breath before you respond can make all the difference in the world. 🌎
Comentarios