Hi,
This is Part 7 of the Concepts 101 Series.
In our life, we can respond or react to something happened, but we usually react rather than respond. What is "respond" and what is "react"?
From the dictionary, Respond is to answer or to reply, while React is to return an impulse or to resist.
When something happened, we react when we do something without thinking. What we do is simply our instincts - automatic, instant, emotional for the goal of survival. However, when we respond, we think before act. We choose not to allow our instinctive, primitive brain to take over our human, logical brain to react. We understand in modern life, there are not too many incidents that can threaten our lives. We do not need to react to survive.
We react when we consider the situation is beyond our control. We respond when we decide that we can do something to the situation. This is a difference between to surrender your input or to choose the suitable input. This is also a difference between surrendering your control and regaining control of the situation and yourself.
You can also choose to answer, to explore, to accept, to acknowledge, to negotiate, etc. when responding. Reacting limits yourself to only one choice, while Responding opens up more choices!
Keith
Explore, Exceed & Excel