Be conscious of your reaction

Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. This means we do not really chose what happens to us. However we can choose how we react to what happens to us.

Imagine you are driving to work in the morning and someone cuts you off. You could choose to
– let it go, slow down and smile
– to press the hooter button (or blow the horn), yell profanity, show the finger.
If you chose the second option then you are likely to have a bad morning and a bad day. This would have been your choice.

Imagine you have just received an eviction notice and have to vacate the next morning. You could choose to
– worry the entire night about where you would sleep the following night, or
– enjoy good night sleep, perhaps the last one you would have for days, and realize that worrying won’t help you a bit.

So each time you are in a difficult situation or bad things are happening to you and around you, take a moment before you react and ask yourself these questions:
What reaction would be more beneficial to me In this situation?
Would I be proud of my reaction to this a day, a month or a year from now?

Clearly this is easier said than done, especially if you are not used to it. This is because most of our reactions are programmed in our subconscious mind, and the subconscious mind reacts so much faster than the conscious mind and hence overrides logic most of the time. The best we can do is to reprogram our subconscious mind and create new pathways, by creating new habits, amongst other things.

Remember, you might not be responsible for what happens to you but you are responsible for how you react to what happens to you. Be conscious of your reaction and think before you act.