Act, Not React

Act, not react. 

I had a situation happen to me recently that I did not handle well. In fact, my initial reaction only added to it accelerating way beyond it ever should. 

One thing that I know about myself is that I am quick to react. My thoughts race in my head, and before I have a chance to say don't you do it, I've already blurted something out that may or may not be appropriate. 

I seem to have an opinion about everything, and am not shy about sharing it whether you care to hear it or not. My altercation the other day was actually with a complete stranger, and now that I've had time to reassess the situation I wish I had reacted differently. 

Perhaps, the fact that I reacted is probably the real issue here. As I often do when faced with a problem, I turn to the wisdom of others for guidance. One thing I came across was the idea of action vs reaction. In thinking about it I realized that sometimes the best action of all is choosing not to react. 

In retrospect I wish I had done the latter. My level of embarrassment and blood pressure would definitely have thanked me. Another nugget of advice was to, "attack the problem and not the person." I realized that in attacking the person, I had done nothing to alleviate the problem. 

As much as I like to think I've got everything under control, I'm humbly reminded time and time again of my shortcomings. However, now that it has been painfully brought to my attention, and I have two good strategies to help me, I pray that I'll handle the next unpleasant situation in a more productive and appropriate manner. 

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
Charles R. Swindoll