Knee Jerk Reaction

Each of us has been in situations whereby we know what we are supposed to do, yet, we do something different. For example, when driving in the rain, you hit a puddle of water. Your car begins to swerve. You're supposed to turn the steering wheel in the direction of the swerve. Instead, your mind reacts and you turn in the opposite direction of the swerve. It's as though your mind has it's own GPS system. Should you go off-course or against what has been preprogrammed in your mind, your internal GPS will recalculate your reasoning.

When we go against reasoning, we open ourselves up to a lot of knee jerk reactions. Our emotions begin to rule our thoughts. We make decisions that we tend to regret later. For example, have you ever made a purchase that you knew you couldn't afford? You know that if you make the purchase it will put you further into debt. You ignore your internal warning system. Your knee jerk reaction is that you don't care about the future debt. You just want to take care of what you determine is an immediate need.

Or, maybe, you're in the middle of an argument with your spouse. You know that certain comments are "off limits" (as these tend to cause hurt). You purposely make the comment in an effort to gain the upper hand. At the end of the argument, you offer an apology. Unfortunately, you can't take back what was said. Your spouse's mind will file those words away (to be remembered at a later time).

In order to move away from these types of reactions you'll want to check your emotions at the door. Don't make emotion-based choices or decisions. Listen to your minds internal GPS as it provides the reasoning or foundation to support your decisions. Doing what you know you should do consistently and keeping a positive frame of mind will decrease (and eventually do away with) knee jerk reactions. Isn't that a better way to live?