Path of Least Resistance...

As a Health Coach I know that we are meant to work our gas and brake pedals (our nervous systems) throughout the day. What I mean is that as situations arise, we are wired to react to that situation, ideally, appropriately.

Take for instance your drive to work. Suddenly a dog darts in front of your car. Well, your eyes catalog what you're seeing, your brain tells you that in a split second you need to make a choice and your body ramps up readying you to be able to carry out the choice you make. My go-to is to jam on the brakes.

Once the situation is over our body is built to bring us back to equilibrium, or what we call regulation. If we keep picturing in our mind's eye the situation of the dog darting in front of our car, our body continues to prepare, readying for a reaction, but with nothing to do, this becomes painful to keep up this level of tension, and is harmful for our minds or bodies.

Today, I paid attention to my reactions throughout my work day. As situations arose forcing me to make urgent choices, or as I felt crunched for time, my body experienced these moments just like the car situation, and prepared me to fight, flight or freeze. My epiphany today is that it is easy for me to let frustration reign. This often leads to anger and disappointment, and then onto dissatisfaction and sadness. These reactions have become my path of least resistance.

In other words, it is easier for me to go down the pathways of frustration and anger than it is to instead take a moment, take a deep breath (or preferably several) tune into my helper, the Holy Spirit, say a prayer and get my equilibrium back. If I do this I can actually deal with the situations with a level head instead of out of fear and worry.

Like my workout this morning from RevWell TV said, I choose to rejoice. I will change my path of least resistance. Will this stop my initial reaction? No, we are built to prepare to react, but I can quickly assess and change my pathway and turn a potential frustration and disappointment into a moment where I can think and react appropriately for my situation.

What's your path of least resistance like?