Count to 10!

When I was a kid, I had the habit of becoming very angry at the smallest push back from most anyone. I would become enraged to the point that I would lose all sense of reason. This problem created many difficulties in my relationships. One day, my mother made a suggestion. She said, when you feel anger coming on, take a deep breath and count to 10. Then, take another breath and collect yourself, before saying anything. When I used this strategy, I realized that my rage would dimenish dramatically and I was more calm and clear headed. Early on, I realized that my behavior had been a reaction to the push back, when the second behavior was a response. There is a huge difference between reacting and responding. We are living in a culture of reaction, meaning that many are shouting and almost no-one is hearing. When we take the time to listen and then respond to the situation, much more can be discussed and therefore, much more can be resolved. The people in our culture are not communicating with each other, they are just shouting and reacting to the noise. We need to focus on our responding, so that we can push through to cultural solutions. The next time you are compelled to shout, take a deep breath and Count to 10!