“You can’t evolve unless you change.” – Thomas J. Leonard
Social conditioning has stunted your growth. All of us have learned in some way shape or form to stifle our responses in order to be “in control”, “civil”, or “courteous”. By doing so, you have trained your mind and body to disconnect from each other. This occurs because more often than not we restrain our reactions to appear competent & in control or we overreact.
When you overreact to something, it’s your body’s way of trying to get you to notice something you need to pay attention to, something most likely you need to change. Take a moment to over respond to your overreactions.
DISTINCTION Over Respond versus Overreact: When you overreact you nip a problem in the bud. When you over respond, you get to the root of the problem and find an opportunity there. ~The Portable Coach
To practice over responding, try these tips on for size:
- When your body overreacts, let it play out. Pay attention to the mental exercise that goes along with it. Identify any mental habits that are involved and investigate them. See this as an opportunity to learn more about the “why” behind the “you”.
- Every situation has more options than you generally consider. Practice stopping in the moment and write out five or more options that are appropriate for the situation you are overreacting to. Yes, even the ones where you say “I can’t do that!”
- Tell yourself that overreacting is only keeping you on the same merry-go-round and that you are tired of seeing the same old scenery. What do you need to change (perspective? habit? environment?) in order to get off the merry-go-round?
