Mindful Response
Since you are now getting the hang of mindfulness, this week we challenge you to practice mindfulness in response to others. To start the week off, take a moment to distinguish a response versus a reaction. Take 60 seconds, close your eyes and think about this. Seriously. Keep them closed. Take a breath. Just focus on task.
You may have considered that a response is typically more thought out, requires a bit of logical thought process, and often is based on facts. In contrast, a reaction is a “knee-jerk” response, can often be illogical, appear as defensive, and is based on unprocessed thoughts and feelings. Remember, our thoughts are just thoughts, not facts and our reactions may be based too heavily on this, rather than a mindful response. Your mindfulness intention this week is to respond to the to people and circumstances that you may encounter over the week rather than react.
Here is your objective task when encountered with a challenging person/place/thing/circumstance:
Pause. Take a breath.
Identify your thought. (See Week 3 of Mindful Training)
Respond skillfully. Ask yourself “Does this response promote who I want to be?”