This episode focuses on the idea solving and managing conflicts without it resulting to physical confrontations. My guest today, Tracy Taris, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Owner of Healing The Mind & Spirit, Inc. and author of the book "Many Voices ONE TRUTH", here to talk with me about the everyday tips and triggers to pay attention to when it comes to responding rationally vs reacting irrationally. She expound the differences of how we respond to those we know; spouse, children, family, friends, etc, where oppose to a random stranger we exchange words with. She spoke about how the various forms of communication; how to be assertive by speaking in a respectful manner, passive aggressive, aggressive, and passive. 

The difference between reacting vs responding is a reaction is predetermined; we've already made up our minds that this is how I'm going to react no matter what vs responding, which is more about taking the necessary time to digest what was said or done and giving yourself time to register the situation, gathering yourself and addressing the situation, still having an emotional reaction, but being able to think logically and rationally about it.

She broke down the different types of emotions that we go through before it gets to a point of no return. She mentioned the term "Emotional Maturity", which speaks to how to be intuned with and control of your emotions and respond maturely to situations. Above all else, we have to ask ourselves questions about our own emotions, why am I reacting this way? What is the real cause for my reaction to this? Tracy talked about self examination which is to do self-assessment to dig deep into what caused you to react so angrily.

Thanks to Tracy Taris for being on the show to discuss this ongoing conversation about how we have to prioritize our inner peace of mind and seeking the necessary healing to become the best versions of ourselves.