Do something Friday

Do you live in a reactionary world?

Reacting is an interesting response.  We live in a culture that seems prone to reacting to situations.  Not much of what happens in life is THAT unexpected.  Perhaps the timing of an event might suprise us -- but the actual event would probably not be that unexpected if we had taken the time to look up from all the "important" stuff we were doing to see what was happening in the world around us.

Take, for example, your work environment.  In most jobs I have come across, there is a pretty big cause and effect factor.  If you know your job and take the time to think about things, most of what happens could be anticipated reasonably well.  When I am successful in anticipating a likely scenario, I can make a plan or have an idea of how I need to deal with that situation.  It doesn't sneak up on me.

Another issue with reacting being your go-to M.O. is you are always at the mercy of someone or something else.  What ever is causing you to react has all the power -- you never get to chose a path -- your situations are always in charge of your life.

Reacting happens a lot when we are uncomfortable.  The tendency is for us to feel the discomfort and make a change to stop it.  When a reactionary person is in an uncomfortable situation, they either run away from it, quickly work to change the situation so it is more tolerable, or zone out thus removing themselves from the discomfort.

Many of us have been taught hunger is an uncomfortable situation -- that hunger sneaks up on us and hits us over the head with a frying pan.  --Not true.

The sensation of hunger doesn't have to be uncomfortable -- it can be just another sensation - like hot or cold, that will need to be addressed but doesn't need to run your life.

Many times clients will tell me that they hate the sensation of hunger and do anything to avoid it (thus eating a ton more calories to ward off hunger that isn't there).  Remember what hunger is -- it is your body's signal you need calories for energy.  Acting on this signal means recognizing it when the hunger level is small and making a plan to eat something -- you are in charge of that decision and can make appropriate choices.  You can act on your sensation.

We get into trouble when we don't pay attention to the small level of hunger and end up feeling crazy hungry -- which sends us running for the nearest fast food or vending machine, eating way too much too quickly and then feeling stuffed, guilty, and defeated because we feel our body's have betrayed our intentions to lose weight.  The feeling most clients don't like is not hunger -- it is the crazy, overpowering, out of control hunger that sends them into reaction mode.

The key to dealing with this is paying attention.  Hunger is pretty anticipatable.  If you don't eat for a while, you are going to get hungry.  If you wait longer, you are going to get more hungry.  If you check in with your body once in a while during the work day, you will notice the small sensations and be able to act on them.  You won't be at the mercy of an uncomfortable situation because it will be a situation you recognize and can act on.  But the real key to giving up the reactionary life is to be aware of your surroundings (both in your internal environment and external environment) -- that way there aren't as many opportunities for nasty surprises.

This weekend, start looking for reaction responses.  Is there a way to anticipate what is likely to happen and turn that reaction into just action?