How do you life your life? How do you deal with an argument with a loved one? Do you react to the things around you or do you respond to them?
The difference between these two words is subtle. Being reactive is making decisions in the heat of the moment, which generally lead to a lot of problems in the long run. We say something in anger and based on impulse, instead thoughtful prudent planning.
Responsive on the other hand is taking the time to think of the pros and the cons and then deciding what we are going to do. Think of all the times when you were in an argument with a loved one and you said things in the heat of the moment. Almost all of times, every conversation that lead to a fruitful conclusion was planned and every detail was laid out with careful consideration, right? The dialogue wasn’t based on impulse and if it was, it probably didn’t work out well.
You must be thinking I am contradicting myself here. As you all know I advocate the fact that the decisions should be taken based on intuition and overthinking leads to us becoming defensive and therefore being average. Now the difference between these two arguments is that, when others are involved and your actions will directly impact their day, week or maybe month. Thinking before speaking is super important. If we think before we speak and put ourselves in the shoes of the person who is receiving the information, we can make better decisions and will not hurt them.
When the decision involve no one else but just us and we have a impulse from our inner self, we just react to the situations.
When others are involved we need to respond, respond according to the way they will appreciate the information. Whereas, if the situation involves only us and no one but us will bear the consequences we should react to the situation.
So the next time you are thinking should I respond or react, this information would hopefully help.