One of my many resolutions in 2015 is to start responding instead of reacting.
What’s the difference between responding and reacting? Here are a few words I would use to describe the two options we have when conflict arises.
Reacting:
- Immediate
- Fight/flight
- Feeling like a victim
- Emotional
- Impulsive
- Not gathering all of the information
- Passive aggressive
- Short-sighted
- Overreacting
- Jumping to conclusions
- Avoiding
- Unproductive
Responding:
- Open
- Listening (though not always agreeing)
- Respecting (though not always agreeing)
- Loving (though not always agreeing)
- Deliberate
- Thoughtful
- Rational
- Taking responsibility
- Productive
- Solution-based
- Cooperative
- Collaborative
It is so, so, so easy for me to jump into a habit of reacting when I’m in survival mode. The stressor could be the holidays, illness, having a newborn, a teething toddler, a preschooler waging an epic battle of wills, a stressed out husband, or the day-to-day demands of running a home with a growing family. It’s easy for me to pick any of those opportunities to start (over)reacting all over the place…[Read the rest at CatholicMom]
