The power of the gap

We want things. We want money, happiness, good health, happy kids, a house over our heads, food in our bellies, and any number of other things.

Yet, we're often busy responding to the world around us and our thoughts, memories, and feelings. We are overloaded and overwhelmed by the stimuli bombarding us.

How we respond is a definition of our character, along with our wants and actions.

We all have a well-worn path that comes to us easily and naturally. If we're quick to anger, we yell; if we're meek, we apologize; if we're kind, we forgive. But this doesn't mean we have to stay this way.

We could choose not to yell, apologize, or be kind. We have the power to choose a different action. We can also choose to take no action or not choose at all.

That gap between stimulus and response is potent and full of possibility, and the more we consider it in ourselves or our stories, the more in control of our characters we can become.