The famous Russian psychologist Pavlov started an experiment by putting food before hungry dogs.
Only problem was there was a barrier between the dogs and the food. Result? All the dogs begin salivating.
He then continued the experiment by ringing a bell, and then presenting the food. Again, the dogs salivated.
In a third part of the experiment, he rang the bell, but did not put food down. Guess what? The dogs still salivated, even though there was no food in front of them.
Why did the dogs still salivate? Because a “conditioned response” had been established between the bell and the salivation reflex.
Do you go through life and let people or events ring your bell?
As human beings, you can decide how to respond to a situation. It does not have to be automatic and pre-determined. Unlike lower animal forms, you are “response-able.”
Under stress or an anger trigger, ask yourself: “Should I do A, B, C, or D”? with all these things being possible courses of action you can take.
Try a different response to an anger trigger next time and see what a difference it can make!
