Are you acting or reacting?

Are you acting or reacting?

Our reactions are natural, instinctual, and often subconscious.

They're normal and even healthy to have, like removing our hand off the hot stove before our brain has even realized it's hot.

But they're meant to be short-lived. They're meant to interrupt us enough to bring our attention to what's just happened, so that we can consciously create a plan of action.

Are you staying stuck in the reaction?

Are you letting other people's behavior dictate yours? Are you letting the news control how you feel about life? Are you creating the results you want, or are you a slave to your circumstance?

When we're triggered by something, we react a certain way towards it. It's then our job to look at why we're reacting that way, and consider what action we need to take instead to move forward and get where we want to go.

Do you hate the way our country feels so divided right now? What action can you take to create more unity and compassion with someone who thinks very differently than you? (Hint: I think learning a language can be a great step to take here.)

Do you have an antagonistic relationship with your significant other, a family member, or a co-worker? What is that reaction telling you about the problem, and about yourself? What can you do to change the relationship without the other person changing first?

When it comes to language learning, are you being triggered by past failures? Are you comparing yourself to others? Wanting to give up is a reaction, as are all our other thoughts and feelings.

If all you do is react, you're not going to get what you want, mi amigo. (unless it comes to you by sheer luck).

When you choose to take the action that serves the result you want, you powerfully shape your own life and the lives of others. You just have to get out of reaction mode.

Be empowered this week, mis amigos. 

Your language coach,

Join me for a bilingual conversation in my latest episode of #SpanishSaturday inspired by a brief passage from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, examining how our reactions to other people’s behavior can keep us from understanding our true feelings.

Let’s get social!