The Resilient Cheerleader: Managing Impulsivity
Impulse control is the second skill on the Resiliency list created by Dr. Karen Reivich. For cheerleaders, controlling the desire to act on feelings is important. Highly resilient people are able to tolerate ambiguity so they don’t rush to make decisions. They sit back and look at things in a thoughtful way before acting.
Impulsive people act before they think. Another way of putting it is: ready, fire, aim! I’m sure you know this can get you into all sorts of trouble!
One way to manage this is to create a wedge between your impulse to act and the action itself. Imagine a remote control device with the “pause” button. When you watch a DVD, you can move it forward, backforward or pause it. When in “pause” mode, you create the space to do something else. You might get something to eat, answer the phone, or whatever but you are in control for a period of time.
It’s the same with other things in life. You can choose to “pause” to create the space in which to think about what you will do next. If you get in the habit of hitting the “pause” button, you will make better decisions for yourself and you won’t’ regret saying or doing something down the road.
Tags: cheerleader, cheerleaders, Cheerleading, resiliency