Impulsivity

Managing Impulsivity - Sometimes we blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes we lack an organized strategy for approaching a problem; sometimes we make immediate value judgments about an idea before fully understanding it. Thinking meticulously and managing impulsivity were not my strength as I always assumed the answer in my head was right without proving it or without thinking first, "how do I know this is true?" "why is this true" "how can I prove it to be true?". It was always a challange for me to manage my impulsivity; and I think that it is important for me to learn to manage my impulsivity in order to think critically and to excel academically. I realized that impulsivity was my major problem but could never really see how and where I made those mistakes. The review lesson over chapter four made me realize how I really have to be critical instead of impulsive. My partner and I were assigned five problem where we were supposed to solve them and then teach them to the class. The first question was, "What is the charge of the nucleus of element 89?" Straight away, I thought that there would be no charge because I confused the nucleus and neutrons. And when we were to teach the class how we solved the problem, we simply said, "the charge is neutral". Impulsivity can lead to embarrassing moments. When Mrs. Knowles told us to draw it on the board, I instantly realized the charge is positive and not neutral because the question was asking for the charge of the nucleus with 89 protons in it, not neutrons. It was really embarrassing because now that I look at it, the question was simple and straightforward! Because of this, managing impulsivity has become my most serious and important problem that I have to control. The review class taught me how to work through things slowly and carefully. I must constantly think, "what is the prove of the answer".



//Delay gratification - it is the essence of emotional self regulation. - Danial Goleman//