“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.” — Viktor Frankl
There is a space between every action and reaction.
Within this space lies your freedom. Life is a long sequence of these spaces. Each one presents an opportunity to decide.
What will you decide?
Will you favor talk or action?
Will you embrace loss or gratitude?
Will you choose comfort or growth?
WIll you create in secret or in public?
Will let pressure break you or make you?
Will life direct you, or will you self-direct?
Will you falter, or will you keep showing up?
Will you pass on the opportunity or seize it?
Will you remain indecisive, or will you begin?
Will you relive the past or manifest the future?
Will you aim for success or what is meaningful?
Will you be a victim, or will you overcome adversity?
Will emotion master you, or will you master emotion?
Will you play your music out loud or die with it inside?
Will you yield to expectation or reach for your dreams?
Will you follow the path well traveled or blaze your own?
Will you fall prey to bias or don the mantle of awareness?
What you decide in each space between action and reaction defines who you will become. For within each space lies the freedom to choose. And in each choice lies the opportunity for growth.
🤔 Food for Thought:
What are some recent decisions you’ve made in the spaces between?
Will awareness of your freedom change future decisions?
What is your favorite question from the essay? Can you think of any others?
⚙️ One Small Step:
The next time you enter the space in between action and reaction, recognize your freedom to decide. Make the most of the opportunity, no matter how small it may appear. Choose meaning and happiness over obligation and fear.