We’ve all had our moments right? You know the ones where we fly off the handle, blurt out something stupid we wish we could take back or feel the opportunity rising in us to act without thought. This is pure lower consciousness and emotional reactions taking us over. Our lower consciousness (or Id according to Freud) is a real brat when upset.
We usually regret this later…even if we don’t want to admit it.
You can see this in just about every forum on the internet. People who lose their minds over grammar or spelling or someone disagreeing. (You know they’d most likely never act like that in real life.)
Or how about the road rage I’m sure some of us have been witness to on occasion. It was this insanity that got me to thinking “what is wrong with people?” I could feel the annoyance rising in me as I watched this fool cutting people off, slamming on brakes and weaving in and out of traffic. Is it a lack of consequence? I’m sure there is a lot of research being done around the phenomenon.
Curious, I was able to observe with my higher self how I was getting really peeved. I had to remind myself how stupid it would be to fall into line and start pushing the accelerator. I was also able to clearly notice what I did to shift my emotions and mindset. I took back control.
You know me…once I get to thinking it rolls on and on! We all do things or say things out of immediate reaction and emotion. I am certain we have all blurted out something in the heat of an argument or emotional situation we regretted or wished we could take back.
Okay…so how to keep from doing or saying stupid things?
1. Pause Give yourself a moment before you move or open your mouth. Just pause. Sounds easier than it is trust me but it’s super important to take a couple of seconds.
2. Breathe During your few seconds take a few deep breaths and choose to let go of the emotions driving you. Release, breathe, release. Calming breathes with serve to get rid of the cloud over your better judgement.
3. Then act
Giving your self those few seconds for a breather can make a huge difference in whether you spend the day regretting and trying to fix a bigger problem or solving the actual issue you have.
Think it doesn’t work? Try it. Or look at my example of the road rage. We can either allow ourselves to be overtaken by emotions and have them run away with us. This only serves to feed the emotion making everything bigger than it really is. Or we can put our emotions in its place and be in control of our self.
As Brian Tracy put it “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”
Which do you think will result in less regret and more problem solving?
The 1,2,3 of sanity and a good reminder Bonnie! I learned quickly in my early years of employment to not overreact or react to something before I really thought about it. There were too many times it bit me in the butt.
So your advice is something to always remember in our personal and business lives. Would also like to add — keep a positive mindset and you will avoid having too many stupid moments!
Oh..you are so right. Hmmm perhaps the postive mindset can be Step 2.5?
Overreacting is so easy when we are stressed ore tired. Adding to this to be kind to everyone including yourself and have a nap if you need it!