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Action … reaction. Stimulus … response.

Sound familiar? It should.

Reacting in a “knee jerk” fashion to the multitude of stimuli that bombard us (these days on an hourly basis) has become a natural human response.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

There is a much more efficient and beneficial way to respond to various situations that confront you. However, it requires you to be aware of a subtle nuance that exists in the above equation … and it is very easy to miss it.

It is called …

The Critical Pause

Although at times it seems imperceptible, there is actually a period of time – a “pause” if you will – between any stimulating event and your reaction to it.

This pause is critical! It is the period of time when you are allowed an opportunity to purposefully choose how you are going to respond to the particular situation or event, and the longer the pause … the better.

For example, I have found that this technique produces great results when applied to anger management, which has been a consistent struggle for me for quite some time.

When a situation or event occurs that begins to produce an anger response, I simply choose to take a deep breath and pause before I react. In fact, I also do my best to actually lengthen the pause – as much as I can – so that I have plenty of time to break my reaction tendency and formulate the best response possible to the stimulating event.

In short, the results have been fantastic. Am I perfect at it? No … not yet.

However, by practicing the use of the above technique on a regular basis, I have found that I am much more poised and “in control” under most conditions. And I have to say … it’s a wonderful feeling.

Better yet, I have also found that this technique of “stimulus – pause – response” works extremely well in all kinds of daily “life environments” … not just those that pertain to anger management. After all, logic would tell us that it is always good to give an measured and thoughtful response … no matter what the situation.

However, another critical point to keep in mind here is that the process of recognizing the stimulus, choosing to elongate the pause, and then choosing to react in a positive manner takes action. If you fail to take conscious action and actually go through this process, you will simply react to the stimulus and be forced to deal with the (often negative) consequences.

Here is an excellent quote which sums up the importance of living a life based on action, rather than succumbing to the natural human tendency toward reactionary living:

“A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.” – Rita Mae Brown

Try applying the “stimulus – pause – response” technique in your own life – as soon as possible – and I promise that you’ll soon see similar results. And by all means, please comment and share your success stories below!

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