The difference between responding and reacting is profound. Responding is about taking a deep breath and pausing before reacting. By being present in a situation and in a relationship, you can make a difference and prevent yourself from going down the slippery slope. Read on for more information. Using the techniques described in Respond Don't React! will transform your relationship and your life. We'll help you develop this essential skill.
Learning to self-regulate thoughts and emotions
Learning to self-regulate thoughts and feelings can be a challenging task, but a key component of resilience is knowing how to control your own feelings. Self-regulation involves understanding that we all have the power to choose how we respond to circumstances. Although life can feel unfair, each situation presents three choices: approach, avoidance, or attack. While feelings can influence our behavior, we are more than our feelings.
The ability to self-regulate our thoughts and feelings is essential to our emotional and social development, and it begins early in life. In fact, learning to self-regulate starts with toddlers throwing tantrums. Once they are old enough to tolerate uncomfortable feelings, they eventually grow into children who can control impulses to act on them. Learning to self-regulate can help you avoid those situations by controlling your emotions.
Learning to be more responsive
Learning to be more responsive involves the use of innovative teaching styles that help students retain information. Traditional teaching methods tend to force students to memorize information; responsive learning helps students retain the information better through an interactive approach. Here are some examples of responsive learning approaches:
Responsive teaching involves tailoring instruction to meet the needs of different readers and writers. Responsive teachers observe their students closely and weave valuable understandings about them into their lessons. They customize their responses to meet the strengths and weaknesses of individual readers. This kind of teaching is described in Guided Reading, Second Edition. Fiona Jackson, a Literacy Consultant, discusses the many benefits of being responsive. She shares how she is able to engage students in reading by making reading more responsive.
Learning to be less reactive
Learning to be less reactive may be hard, especially if you've grown up fighting and defending yourself. In order to become less reactive, you must develop an observant part of yourself and learn to observe yourself. By noticing your reactions, you can understand the underlying emotion behind them. You will be able to avoid impulsive behaviors, such as yelling, snapping, or shouting at others.
You can learn to become emotionally nonreactive by using the techniques of mindfulness. Nonreactive responses are natural reactions that happen naturally when you practice mindfulness principles. The primary symptom of a nonreactive person is their choice. They choose the realistic, relevant, and productive option instead of the emotional response they would have otherwise reacted to. Learning to be less reactive is an effective way to reduce impulsivity and enhance your overall well-being.