How I Respond

Too often in life we simply react to what goes on around us. Something happens and we simply react to it. At times, this can get us in trouble because our reaction is too quick, too strong or off in some other way. When this happens, it can wreak havoc in our lives. Learning to respond rather than react involves becoming aware of what goes on in our interactions. Looking at things that are underlying what we do and then intentionally working to change our behaviors can lead to a much more peaceful way of going through our days. Having a therapist or counselor can be helpful in order to talk about what is going on, to help point out things that might be going on under the surface and to encourage alternative ways of responding. This book is not meant to be a substitute for such guidance, in fact this book can be helpful for recording what is going on so that you and your therapist or counselor can more clearly work with what is going on. Our memories of events can get fuzzy so writing things down at the time can really help. Even if you do not have a therapist or counselor, going through the exercise of recording what is going on and thinking about it can be helpful. This book gives you the opportunity to do just this. For each event complete the log that spans two pages. On each log, you will be asked about what took place, your thoughts and feelings about it, how you reacted/responded, the result and any changes you would make next time. As you do so, watch for patterns and see if you are able to move more to responses over time. As Viktor E. Frankl (a great thinker in therapy as well as a survivor of Nazi Germany): "Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom."May your growth and freedom lead you to wholeness and peace.