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Mental Health Is Important
Author: justthinkingoutloudblog
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Choose To Win
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The Golden Rule
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Choose Your Words Wisely
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Be inspired
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Keep going…
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We are all unique
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Blessed
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SELECTIVE HEARING
Every parent knows that children tend to display a condition called ‘selective hearing’: they CHOOSE what they want to ‘hear,’ or more accurately, what they respond to.
As much as that irritates us as parents, if we understand the motivation behind this behaviour we have to admit that it’s an amazing skill to have! Moreover, there is an important lesson for adults to learn from such a skill.
Life is full of ‘noise’ which, if we allow, often distracts us from our goals, or otherwise negatively impact us. This might be in the form of any distraction that takes our focus away from more important and/or urgent matters.
O. N. Rowe
It could also be comments made by others that seek to tear us down instead of lifting us up. It could be, simply, anything that prevents us from giving our full attention to a task at hand. These are all examples of ‘noise’ that we need to be able to tune out.
We don’t have to respond to every critic. We don’t have to jump at every call to do something which is neither important nor urgent. Neither do we need to be drawn into every argument that someone with apparently too much time on their hands, decides to instigate.
O. N. Rowe
An ability to be selective about what we ‘hear’ and react to is, in many situations, an amazing skill to have.
An Overreaction can be described as an irrational, emotional reaction to some situation, leading to a response that is more forceful than is justified or can be considered reasonable.
When faced with an undesirable situation, our immediate instinct is typically to switch to self-preservation mode. In the absence of information we try to fill the gap with what often turns out to be the ‘worst case scenario’. The problem is that sometimes we end up doing more harm than good.
The impact of overreacting not only affects us, but potentially anyone else involved in the situation we are responding to. In fact, it can make the situation worse.
Interestingly, when we respond without the benefit of information, our response typically betrays our deep rooted fears, or even stereotypes, that might have shaped our expectations.
When we expect bad to happen – especially as a result of past experiences – the slightest resemblance can lead us to conclude that this IS in fact the reality. Put another way, our perception of a situation is often shaped by our expectations.
The bottom line: An overreaction is like using a sledge hammer to drive in a thumb tack. It will get the job done, but the damage can be devastating!
O. N. Rowe
We can learn to minimize overreactions by pausing before we respond; by considering the possibility that we could be wrong; and by taking steps to gather as much information as we can, or as we need, to help with applying an objective response.
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll