Responding or reacting, that is the question! I’m going to suggest that we do both each and every day. Responding and reacting is something that I have tossed around for quite a few years. I find that there are traits that are polarizing and cause a big separation between the meaning of the two words. So as I was sitting in a session one day I wrote out these separating factors on the whiteboard. (see the picture to the right)

This list is certainly not all-inclusive; there are many things that we do when we RESPOND and there are many things that we do when we REACT! Think about when we are driving in traffic and someone cuts us off or is driving too slow for our liking. Do we RESPOND to them; give them grace and slow down? Do we REACT to them; speed up and choose to wave at them with a single finger in disgust? When our caller ID displays the name of someone we wish to not talk with. Do we RESPOND to them; answer the call even though we are not in a place to have the conversation that they may want to have? Do we REACT to them; press the ignore button and then not follow up the voicemail with a phone call?

Let’s break this down, when we RESPOND we are in a position of approaching people, places and situations from a LOVE and RESPECT BASED perspective. When we approach things in this way it puts us in a position to set healthy BOUNDARIES which creates RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY. We then can COMMUNICATE, COOPERATE, COLLABORATE; and I will add one more “C” – be COMMITTED to the process at hand. This creates a workable model that motivates and inspires growth!

When we are in a REACTION mode, we are in a position of approaching people, places and situations from a FEAR BASED perspective. It is the FIGHT/FLIGHT perspective that creates WALLS instead of boundaries. This sets us up for IRRESPONSIBILITY and puts us in a VICTIM MINDSET. The victim mindset is the poor-pitiful-me perspective that demotivates you and everyone around you. This creates AVOIDANCE TACTICS and ultimately inspires the lack of motivation.

What is it that you want to create today in your life. You are going to be faced with decisions today that will require a RESPONSE or a REACTION. Reading this blog post could be your opportunity to choose RESPONSE! Step into the process at hand and create something that motivates and inspires you and those around you!