Take a Breath

Acting on impulse is letting your emotions make decisions. While some choices have to be made faster than others, it's often beneficial to take a moment and steady our feelings before making decisions.

Here’s an example. When the cover artist for Sarana and the Dark King sent me a dozen potential designs, I looked at the first few and felt upset because I knew they were not right. Sarana was too exposed. It was completely the wrong look for this female warrior. Immediately my impulse was to tell her that nothing she sent would work. As I looked through the rest of the photos, I was only seeing the faults.

I took a breath.

Scrolling through them a second and third time, I started to see the potential. One image of the woman’s face was spot-on, and the font from another rendition was perfect. With a calm head, I could see she actually presented me with all the elements of a fantastic cover. If I explained to her what I liked from each photo, I would have a cover I could feel great about.

It's helpful to be in-tune with your emotions. If you act on your emotions, you may say or do something that’s not in your best interest. Use the STOP skills, (stop, take a step back, observe, and then proceed). When we pause and then act with reason, we are more likely to achieve the best results.