Note to self: Change your first reaction

I’ve been an adherent to various parts of David Allen’s GTD system for a while now. Which parts and how much have varied. But no matter how different the parts of the system are used in my life, the one constant that remains is the Inbox.

I’ve had different Inboxes, but this sentiment is one that hung out for a while because there were numerous contexts it registered for me in my life.

It started with:

Stop letting your first reaction to things that frustrate you or problems you see be to try and solve them.

I don’t remember exactly how soon, but this sentiment was added soon:

Pray first. And not for what you should do. But for the situation and people in them.

My first reaction is to solve a problem. As Lisa will quickly tell you, I don’t always have to be asked to help solve the problem in order to offer my services. Something else I’ve realized over time is that I’ve been willing to solve problems that may not actually be there.

This was dropped in my Inbox quite a while (years) ago. It has stayed in my “do something with” folder because the sentiment has never not registered with me. Looking back on it now, that while the sentiment still registers, it is an encouragement more than a sting now.

Different people are going to approach situations in different ways. But no matter the base personality or typical approach, I think nearly every situation, every interaction is worth taking at least a breath if not three. Looking at another step of the GTD system or the Agile process, there is an evaluation that happens. I think that is valuable for us to consider no matter the situation or interaction.

What do I see? Is that really the reality?

What part do I play in this? Should I play a part in this?

How do I add to the situation?

There are any number of considerations to make depending on the situation and your relationship/proximity/etc to it. But the intentionally to stop and look,listen, etc before responding is critical.

And even more so, if you are approaching any of these as a Believer, the criticality to add prayer even before consideration let alone response can’t be overstated. I won’t even pretend that the pausing is always my first reaction, to there is no pretense that prayer always comes next. But there has been much grace shown in my life when I do.

It is interesting. These sentiments got dropped in my Inbox due to some level of self-evaluation/conviction. It also doesn’t go without notice that there any number of sayings and proverbs that tell us to “think before we speak”. But sometimes has to hit us at the right time or in the right context. For me it wasn’t as much the thinking before speaking as much as having a functioning method for processing.

It still isn’t without its opportunities for improvement. But it absolutely functions better than is used to.

Writing Day 2, 2022 Edition – Complete.