The gap between what happens to you and how you respond is where choice lives. Most of us react on autopilot, driven by habit and old programming. Pause there instead, listen without judgment, and pick a response that matches who you want to be.
I call it minding the gap in these situations. So there's a gap, you know, this is the psychology of stimulus and response. There's a gap between stimulus and response. So if somebody pokes you, for example, you know, you can respond instantly by poking them back or reacting in a, you know, not very positive way, or you can mind the gap. So, you know, it doesn't have to be a physical poke. It could be, you know, an insult or something like that. But how do you respond? Is it habitual? Is it your automatic response? And a lot of that's just subconscious programming we've grown up with, you know, an eye for an eye, you know, that kind of a thing. Or more wise and sagacious choice where it's just like, well, let me mind the gap here a minute and think about alternatives. I could respond any number of different ways. What's the wisest thing to do in this situation? Which translates into shut up to a lot of people. Just stop talking. Just stop talking. Listen. Contemplate without judgment and respond in a more responsible way.
