Wisdom begins when you question your first reaction

Reactivity is rarely productive and rarely beneficial.

 

If a person has no aim, no goal, no higher wants or needs, then this is no problem. But I will be so bold as to presume that you do. Therefore it is wise to limit the reactivity one allows to rule one’s actions.

 

To react on impulse, thought, or desire teaches you that the highest authority in your life is the impulse itself.

 

You eat the thing you were not going to eat.
You avoid the thing you know will be difficult.
You become frustrated where you meant to be understanding.

 

Confusion follows, because no hierarchy of desire has been established.

 

This can happen for many reasons. Perhaps no goals have been set. Perhaps you are stressed. Perhaps you have not yet learned that desires are not equally valuable. Or perhaps you simply have not practiced how to pause before reacting.

 

I have struggled with all of these reasons myself, and many more. We all have our own tendencies that capture our attention.

 

What must be practiced over time is the capacity for discernment in thought. The ability to see one’s thoughts clearly and place them in their proper order:

 

1. Higher aims
2. Wishes and desired outcomes
3. Wants and immediate needs

 

But something simple can be practiced right now.

 

Choose a thought or feeling — no matter how trivial.

 

“I should grab a snack.”

 

Then place it under investigation.

What is this?

Is it a want, a wish, or a calling?

 

In this case it is simply a want, and therefore it should be treated as such.

 

To question the first reaction is the first step toward wisdom.