reaction | response

When I went to school some physics teacher tried to instill in me this idea…
‘That every action has an equal or opposite reaction’
Sounds a bit like hedging your bets both ways to me…
I guess the point is that with every action there are some options when it comes to reaction.

Watching some drag racing drivers on TV the other day I realized that a lot of what they do, and the potential success of each run...comes down to their reactions.
If they react quicker, they have a better chance of actually winning.

When it comes to our lives I am not sure that a quicker reaction speed serves us that well.
I mean, what if your reaction ends up being wrong?
You have then just got to a bad result quicker…

One leader I respect, some time ago called together a meeting of all his heads of departments.
They sat around the table and listened to his plans on how to increase their capacity.
Essentially his plan was to add 33% to the capacity they had with the same staff and resources. He acknowledged that this would potentially be a big ask, but asked each leader to support it and at least give it a try.

Now at that point I was a little apprehensive.
Human nature seems to so easily kick in sometimes and you then start thinking about yourself.
What about me? How much more work will I have to do?
Obviously I wasn’t the only one in the group.
Most of the leaders there were quite negative towards the proposal. They had plenty of reasons why it wouldn’t work. They reacted!

Now I am the last to say I handle this reaction thing well.
But in this case I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I wanted to respond better and not let my issues get in the way.
In the course of time this leaders decision was a great idea. Things grew beyond expectation and every negative comment was proven to be unfounded.

So here is my idea…
We need to be people who respond more than we react.
Responding speaks of a considered and planned response.
It gives you a chance to make sure you handle things well.
Whatever you are facing this week, don’t just react to it.
Take a deep breath, think, pray, consider and then respond.
It will serve you well.

Something to think about...