Humans are action-oriented beings and fundamentally function in similar ways. When a situation occurs, humans react to it, then contemplate how the reaction feels and determine what action is best suited to act upon that feeling. These steps can happen within milliseconds of each other. The mind is quick to react, contemplate, and take action, sometimes to the point where you are only consciously aware you’ve taken action after it’s done. You want to be aware before the action is done and that entails managing and understandings emotions.
The first step in the process of emotions is the reaction. It is what you feel inside yourself. It can be an overwhelming sensation of joy, happiness, sadness, or anger that only you are aware of. These reactions come up quickly and cannot be swayed one way or another. It’s a function of the body that is out of our control. It’s difficult to be conscious about them, and if you haven’t realized, the subconscious mind and the body work together to figure out the emotion. Once the reaction is clear, subconsciously or consciously, then comes the time to contemplate how to act.
The mind then asks what to do with the emotion and what is the best way to release it into the world. Are you going to jump up for joy, hug another person, cry, or yell at someone? This is lightning-speed processing, and once your mind decides the best course of action, it lets the body know what to do and you will take action. Ask yourself if you are self-aware how your body is reacting.
The action taken is visible to the outside environment. What the environment sees is the output of the reaction and contemplation. You are now broadcasting your emotions to the world, where others will interpret your action. They will conclude how you channeled your emotions into physical output and, in turn, go through the same process of emotion you went through to determine if they should smile, laugh, cry, etc.
The process of emotions is happening constantly, and everyone follows the same process. However, the length between contemplation and action can be controlled, and this is what makes the difference between individuals. Some people can increase the time between contemplation and action, resulting in a longer review period of their choices and possibly better choices.
It takes self-awareness to be able to control your actions. You can only control your actions if you have had time to process the pros and cons of the outcomes of the actions. Take the time to know yourself and understand what triggers you positively and negatively. Reflect on the times you regretted your actions. This will enable you to foreshadow your negative actions based on reactions and possibly change their course. It takes time to change, and change for the better is always warranted, whether it takes a month or years. Victor E. Frankl said “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Take care.