Pause and respond, not pause and react

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'Tis the season for stress to be on the rise.  Semesters are ending, holidays are here, and inflation and supply issues have made everything more expensive and harder to get.  It's times like this that it's easy to let a small mistake turn into something way bigger than it needs to be.  It's easy to let one misunderstanding turn into a fight.  One simple oversight becomes a massive problem. Ahhh, the joys of stress.

When this happens, the best thing we can do is pause.  Take a step back.  Walk away from the email.  Put the phone down.  When we jump to dealing with something, we often end up reacting to a situation rather than responding.  Reactions are hot, not thought out, and explosive.  Responses are calm, considered, and a way to deal with the problem without making things worse.  So, how do you trigger this response?  You take a breath.  Unless it's life and death, nothing needs to be addressed right now.  It can wait.  You and your mental health are more important.  Emails are allowed at least a 24-hour timeframe for a reply.  Texts don't demand an immediate reply.  It can all wait.

It may sound selfish or unproductive, but taking a moment (or day) to deal with a situation is actually in the best interest for everyone involved.  It will give you time to be more creative in coming up with a solution.  And, it's best for your health.  When you take care of yourself, you can better take care of others - family, friends, classmates, peers, colleagues, etc.  And, you may even discover that you end up responding with a solution that helps to head off more problems in the future.  It really is a win-win situation.

Now, speaking of letting small issues turn into huge mistakes.... I'll be at the salon praying that someone can turn my horribly colored purple and orange hair back into my natural white and grey.  Happy Tuesday, ya'll!



*Image Source: Seluk, N. (2021).  The Awkward Yeti. [comic strip].  Retrieved from: https://theawkwardyeti.com/chapter/heart-and-brain/

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