The power of “Feel Critically” and take ACTION

I was sitting at home trying to write something about what I am feeling in regards to the recent incidents that have been taken place in our country and nothing was coming to my mind. I don’t know if it was because I was going through different emotions. The majority of them hard to put in to words. I’ve always been the type of person who prides himself on analyzing my emotions really well and exploring them from a lot of different angles. I guess I find myself this time a little lost. 

All across the world there have always been controversies over various issues. Only certain people have the courage to stand up for what they believe in and defend it.

These people include Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Zahra Arabzada and the original peaceful protester, Mahatma Gandhi. I have huge admiration for all of them. I would think it would be really hard to analyze any emotions when all what is felt is negative feelings such as anger, disappointment, frustration, etc. However, these people have what I call a God given ability to do this really well, to “feel critically”. They always seem to look to find deeper understanding of their emotions then they proceed to act on it rather than react on it. The ability to stand up for themselves and often times on behalf of others is almost like that of a higher responsibility. This brings me to the question of what is the right way to stand up for oneself when those negative feelings are the driving force for your proceeded actions? Also how you stand up when in that moment ones find themselves at a disadvantage? Many of us have been placed in situations before, whether it is at work, in a relationship, or in school, trying to stand up for our selves where there is little to no room to speak up. We start to fuel our selves with understandably negative feeling and for some of us we react based on those feelings and that put us at a disadvantage. I am not suggesting that ignoring your feelings will get you into the right frame of mind to stand up for yourself. Because the feelings are the driving force of any action that you will take. What I am suggesting is that we have to look introspectively to those feelings and align them with our core values.

Think critically about the situation you find yourself in, and take ACTION (A Critical Track to Improve Outcomes Nonviolently). That’s what I call take ACTION. Sometimes it’s hard to think critically and to feel critically because it takes a lot of energy facing your own feelings of discomfort. We all feel good when we react on those feelings because it’s like a way of relief. Don’t get me wrong, the release of those neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and epinephrine, at a molecular level creates a good short term response physiologically. But the long term result could be detrimental for our own personal health, relationships, our environment, and society. Because you are reacting on impulse. Once again, standing up for yourself takes great strength and courage, especially if the opposing force is stronger. No matter the situation it is one’s right and responsibility to stand up for what one believes in. If I may share, throughout history many men and women have stood up for themselves and their cause. In the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s a man named Mahatma Gandhi led a revolution for racial equality and India’s independence from Britain.

Creating the principle of non-violent protesting, he introduced a method known as “non-cooperation”. “Non-cooperation” involved the people of India spurning everything that the British government told them to do. Gandhi called for a campaign of non-cooperation with the British. Indian children were withdrawn from schools, Indians in public office resigned and Indians boycotted the legal system. This act caused obstruction in Britain’s government and led to the lessening of social order. Indians crowded the streets  making them impassable and refused to fight back even when beaten. During the Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King Jr. would go on to follow these methods of civil disobedience. Non-cooperation was a successful non-violent method that ultimately contributed to the freedom of India. Africa and Nelson Mandela stood up for peace between everyone. Mandela stood up for what he believed in and spent 27 years in jail because of it. Because Mandela stood up for his, and many others beliefs, and never gave up his movement, South Africa is the racially equal country it is today. There are so many examples that we can quote where violence led by impulse emotions have not worked out favorably in the long term. I wonder if we could do the same… yes I wonder if in our country instead of violently react on those feelings of anger, disappointment, rage etc. we could find our self think and feel critically and act on non-cooperative way peacefully. I guess the question we have to ask is whether we want a short-term result or a long lasting outcome. I am inviting us to “feel critically” and to take ACTION.