“You f*cking idiot!”

You’re at a party and a drunk stranger spills his entire glass of red wine on your brand new white shirt…

What do you do?

Do you follow your impulse reaction and blast him with everything you’ve got? Or do you take a deep breath, consider your options and choose the most appropriate response?

At any given moment, we always have a split second in which we can choose to either react or respond.

A reaction is more based on instinct and rarely takes into consideration future implications.

A response on the other hand will be thought through and will have weighed pros and cons.

Viktor E. Frankl, during his time in concentration camps became aware of his true and undeniable freedom: the power to choose his own attitude.

No matter what the guards did to him or what horrors he was made to endure, he always maintained his ability to choose his attitude.

And this ownership was what made him free.

Free to respond instead of reacting.

In any given situation we also have the freedom to choose our own attitude.

Understanding this is very empowering because it gives us full ownership of how we respond to things.

So next time you find yourself in a displeasing situation, remember your freedom. Remember that you can choose to either react or respond.

What about you? Do you tend to react or respond to things?


#react #respond #personaldevelopment #motivation #whatinspiresme