I love this video as it highlights the CHOICE that mindfulness provides to us once we have practiced (and practiced and practiced) to strengthen the muscle (ok…not really a muscle) that allows us to pause and come back to the present moment. You have triggers, urges and actions…three separate entities! You can have an urge to scream without screaming. You can have a thought that cake would taste REALLY good right now…without eating the whole cake. You can notice a desire to call in sick and stay home…without acting on it! Or you could act on it in a healthier way: compose yourself and tell the other person how their comment affected you, have an appropriate portion sized piece of cake, take a sick day and pamper yourself…don’t just stay in bed.
Regardless of the scenario, mindful awareness of the moment (and the contained emotions, urges, thoughts, etc) allows us to pause and make an intentional choice of how to respond. Let’s become less reactive and more responsive. Imagine how much less time you would spend cleaning up the messes that you make in an emotional reaction!
