Choose your response

Neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl said:

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

When you train to be mindful, you give yourself the chance to notice this space and choose your reaction, instead of acting out of habit in the same way you’ve always done in the past. Mindfulness gives you the chance to choose how you react.

Try this simple exercise to help you practice noticing even the smallest of spaces:

• Take a few moments to sit quietly and bring your attention to your breath.
• As you watch your breath, notice that there’s a pause between each of your in-breaths and out-breaths.
• See if you can simply rest in this small space between your in- and out-breaths.

See if you can make use of the space between something happening and your response—then choose your reaction.