Personal Credo

     Choose to respond rather than react. This has been quite the lesson for me with which I found better results to follow. Time and time again choosing to respond intelligently has proven wiser than habitually reacting to a stimulus. When one chooses to respond rather than react, they choose to act in power over themselves and even over the situation. When reacting, one often does so all the while perceiving the stimulus or situation through the filter of their emotions or habits alone. One often reacts as well without giving the situation a moment to breath and think, assimilating what is occurring before them. Choosing to respond rather than reacting is not something that alone is done between persons, but all situations. It allows one to be far more productive with each moment.

     My mother told me from an early age, "When you are angry, take a moment to breath and count to ten before acting or saying anything." This was not assimilated right away, as it took years of experiencing situations and more lessons on the subject to understand and then "know" what she was saying was true. I've learned that I can use that same method for times when I am not only angry, but feeling other emotions as well, and even times when I believe that I am right on the subject being spoken about. Taking a moment to pause and reflect on what has been asked or said can be the defining factor for what one chooses to do next. To simply react requires very little time and very little perception of what is before you at all. It often takes more time for one to repair the damages of a reaction than it does for one to think about something before they do it.