We have all been in situations where we felt we could have said something better or perhaps not said anything at all. However, often after these moments end, we move on and do not give those thoughts any more food. We often do not give most of our thoughts a second thought and this causes us to be reactive. As human beings, it is our initial instinct to be responsive, and in our fast-paced world we are expected to respond quickly. This often leads us to not think about what the other person is saying and give a hurried reply, even if the subject matter requires a little more thought. Although being reactive is not entirely a bad thing, I truly encourage you to be the opposite: proactive.
We live in a world where people are constantly projecting their angers and frustrations on to others. And by doing this, those who receive these negative vibrations only spread them even further. This is not how we grow as a society. This is not how we become better human beings. So many of us want to see change but do not realize that change can start with something so simple: think, really think.
For the most part, we see and think about things from our own perspective, it is what we understand best. We are slow or close-minded to look at things from the perspectives of others and it is in these moments, I feel that we need to stop and breathe. Perhaps if we were to take a few seconds and breathe deeply in through our noses and out our mouths, we could give our words and responses the time they need instead of the time they receive. We should give ourselves the time to think, “Is it this really how I want to say this?” or “Is this really what I want to say?” and consider the best way to articulate something.
As human beings, we long to be understood but often times fail to understand others. We constantly are reactive as a society and so little of us are learning from this. With that, I leave you some food for thought: be proactive and give your words some thought.
