Is there one thing that could fundamentally change your experience of the world ? Probably not, but shifting from reaction to action would be a close contender.
Reactions are automatic, almost pre-programmed. They happen without much (if any) thought or effort on your part and provide a set of emotions, thoughts and words that you are so used to you name them ‘you’. You don’t doubt that this is who you are because this is who you have always been. When x happens you react this way – that is how it is. Or is it ?
What if reactions could be choices ? Sit with that question for a while before throwing it away – what if…reactions could be choices ?
I love the possibility that this question opens up for me. If I could react differently could I change the outcome of my interactions ?
I know the answer to this is yes, just as I know that I am the creator of my life. The question I battle with is how to create what I want instead of what I get as a default. Moving from reaction to action is one of the answers I have found.
It isn’t easy! Changing the habits of a lifetime never are, especially when you have assumed that what you say, do and feel is who you are. You have always reacted in a certain way and now you want to act in a way that is out of line with what you are thinking and feeling and that is going to feel wrong. It is going to feel inauthentic, but here is the good news – the more you practice new actions the more your thoughts and emotions will line up with what you are doing until your new way of acting is now so natural it is who you are. By choosing your actions you can change your thoughts and feelings – bizarre, but true and also the only effective way I have found of reprogramming my thoughts and so my feelings.
How to move from reaction to action
The first rule of dream making is that you can’t create a negative, you have to replace a negative with something new. So you can’t focus on NOT reacting, you have to find what would replace reacting and instead focus on that. What is the opposite of reacting ? For me it is acting. Action is a conscious choice I make to do something regardless of the fear, emotion or anything else my mind and past bring to this moment. Being in action is a choice I make to ignore my standard responses and the very strong pull of my automatic emotions and instead, do what needs to be done to create the outcome I have chosen.
When you move into action you allow your vision to control what you say and what you do, rather than your reactions. Reactions come from the past, being in action is in this moment and moves you to a new future.
It all starts with a choice, the choice to let go of you reactions and own your life. Moving from reaction to action is a powerful habit that you can start to practice now and one that will create spectacular changes. This one simple choice may take a while to master, but once you start to experience the results, you will not regret taking that giant leap of faith and starting. Go on, live with dare! Create the life you want to love!