Overreacting
April 28th, 2008 | Teachings |What happens to your behavior or emotions when something unpleasant happens? Many of us have a tendency to overreact to situations. Someone cuts in front of us in a line for example, and our mind begins to race with negative thoughts. We may perform an action which is not good because we are letting our emotions and behaviors overreact.
If a carpenter is building a house and a nail he is using bends, he does not think “Oh, these nails are terrible. I have to stop working immediately and go buy some other ones.” To do so would be a waste of time. He just keeps working and gets his job done.
Overreacting often causes us more suffering than the original incident did. How many crimes of passion have been committed because people were overreacting? How many acts of vengeance have been carried out in the misguided attempt to right a wrong? Maybe we have a car accident and we decide we should never drive again. Would that be a proper view?
If we learn to just let things go, we can avoid this problem. Take a cue from the gentle water that goes around the boulder in the river. The water does not get frustrated. It just takes another course to reach its destination.
Sometimes we must react to certain situations, but the key is not to overreact. Stand up for yourself but do so in a dignified manner, not becoming overbearing or obnoxious. Learn to gauge the matter and react accordingly. Knee-jerk reactions seldom bring desired success. They often smother than allow the freedom to choose appropriately.
Make sure to use Right View and Right Action when faced with a scenario that requires acting. Right View is best described as knowing that careless thoughts, words, and actions lead to stress and suffering for ourselves and others; and that good knowing, properly giving rise to good in our thoughts, words, and deeds, leads to ease of body and mind for ourselves and others. This kept in mind, should alleviate overreacting.
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