Top 10 Ways to Overrespond to Every Event

Immediately Overrespond? To every event? Immediately? Yes. Really. unless you respond to your environment. And there is a distinction between overresponding and overreacting.

1. Every time you are surprised, make a significant personal change.

Usually when you are surprised, you react. And react some more. And then react to the reactions. But what if, every time something happened -- good or bad -- you made a big change of some kind, more than was called for? The point here is to become so into the present that you overrespond and demonstrate that you got the message. It's difficult to justify this rationally, other than to say that most things worthwhile are beyond the rational mind anyway.

2. Look for the 5 choices you have, in every single circumstance.

Most of us look for the 2 or 3 options when faced with a difficult situation. But there are at least 5 options in every situation. You may need to think creatively and consider the kind of things you'd normally say, "Oh, I can't do that!" But the options are there.

3. Never decide. Rather, let your body choose for you.

Formerly being an accountant, I was big on making the right decision in every situation. List the pros and cons, weigh the odds, consider the short and long term consequences and -- presto -- I would make up my mind. Well, I did, but my decisions were rarely the best ones. The idea here is to stop deciding and stop choosing. Instead, let your body choose for you. You've got a lot more cells in your body than you do in your mind. And they know a lot more about you than your brain does. Trust yourself to your body. It knows.

4. Become extremely curious about your reactions.

The last time you got frightened or angry, did you ask yourself, "Wow, now why did I get so scared or ticked off?" Well, you might have asked yourself this, but most of us are so busy reacting that it's a change for us to look beyond that into who we are that we reacted as we did. Humans react; we just do. And rather than trying to stop our reactions, why not use them as a way to get to know yourself a lot better? We all react for great reasons. Find out what they are.

5. Make overresponding a personal strategy.

If creativity interests you at all, then become very creative in how you overrespond. I often ask myself, "Okay, so how can I overrespond to this event?" It's a creative exercise, not just an attraction-building one. Part of my attraction/success strategy is to overrespond; I don't just do it because it's an interesting concept. I work it. So can you.

6. Stop spending time with reactors or non-responders.

Some people are constantly on the verge of feeling disturbed. Others are numb. Others could care less. If you really like the idea of overresponding as a progressive way to learn and advance yourself, then seek out the company of others who are on a similar path. You'll probably need their support, until the idea of overresponding becomes popular. You want to be in an environment that is supportive of your overresponding; otherwise, they'll just think you've gone a bit batty.

7. Turn every problem into a non-recurring event.

If you're looking for a way to flex your new overresponding muscle, identify a problem in your life and take up to 10 steps to make sure it -- or anything like it -- never happens to you for the rest of your life. That's one of the benefits of overresponding -- you can use it to permanently fix problems. The ultimate objective of course, is to become a Problem-Free Zone. Overresponding can make that possible.

8. Experiment as you overrespond.

When you're overresponding to an event, you'll start by doing the obvious things that come to mind. But why not overrespond in very different ways as well? As valuable as overresponding is, it's the chance discoveries you make about yourself and life that make the biggest difference. And these usually result from doing something radically different in a situation, not just overresponding well.

9. Evolve, don't just improve.

What's the difference? When you improve, you do something smarter or better. Not bad! But when you evolve, you fundamentally and permanently change a part of who you are. Improving is good, evolving is better. Responding is an example of improving. Overresponding is an example of evolving. It's both a matter of degree of change, and also of the type of change you're making. Next time you're in a situation that calls for a change or improvement, ask yourself how you might evolve yourself instead. Mutate, don't clone.

10. Overrespond immediately, not gradually.

This is the trickiest part of this principle. Overresponding-in-the-moment, instead of "later." I'm not suggesting that you be rash or less than thoughtful in how you progress in life, but as you develop this muscle, it needs room to flex itself. Experiment with overresponding radically, bypassing your normal process of decision-making, and see what you can learn from that. Eventually, you'll unconsciously overrespond and barely even notice it. And that is pretty exciting to witness.

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