The busyness of life often forces us to live in a reactive-response mode. When we experience a stimuli, we don't spend time evaluating what our response ought to be. Instead, we react automatically, using the frameworks we have created in our minds to solve everyday problems. The downside of this approach is that some of the data that our frameworks are based on are not always accurate. So even though we long for improvement in our lives, we get the same results over and over again and nothing really changes.

If we are to grow and experience transformation in our lives, it may be time to pause and think before we react and respond. Taking a pause to think about what we are seeing puts us in a better position to choose wisely, make the right decision or choose the right behavior. When we stop the automatic reaction to stimuli in our lives, we err on the side of caution; we make better decisions and have better outcomes.

Our thoughts shape what we believe, what we believe drives our emotions, our emotions mold our feelings and our feelings dictate our attitudes and behaviors. Pausing and thinking about what we are thinking about before we take any action is definitely the smart thing to do.