If I could change one thing about myself...

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi Nobody’s perfect in this world is a well-known fact. It is our flaws that make us strong and unique. The subtle art of perfectionism is all about doing your greatest, putting in your best efforts and full strengths and keeping up the perseverance and grit no matter what.

‘To err is to be human.’ According to a recent aptitude test taken by me, so far as my critical dissection of things is concerned, I am fairly good. But, there is one thing that concerns me and may cause obstructions in my work that is my impulsiveness. Impulsiveness is a behaviour in which one does things suddenly without any prior planning and without considering the consequences or it is the inclination to act on impulse rather than thought. This may lead to long term negative impacts. This situation can be elevated if one has a short temper.

According to psychological studies, impetuosity has these basic dimensions: motor (action without thinking), cognitive (quick intellectual decision-making), and non-planning (decrease in alignment towards future) factors. Recklessness can lead to acting on the spur of moment (motor activation), not concentrating on the task at hand (inattentiveness), not preparing and thinking carefully (non-planning), decreased sensitivity to negative consequences of behaviour, instantaneous and unplanned reaction to stimuli before processing the evidence thoroughly and no esteem for long-term consequences of a behaviour. To sum up, impulsiveness can be defined as the fast reaction without contemplating and conscious judgment, acting without enough thinking, and a predisposition to act with less thinking compared to the others who have similar levels of knowledge and ability.

Impulsiveness in children can often lead to doing senseless or inappropriate things to get undue attention of others, may have trouble in following rules constantly; being aggressive toward other kids; having trouble waiting for their turn in games and conversation; grabbing things from people or pushing in line; overreacting to hindrance, discontent, errors, and criticism; wanting to have the last word and the first turn, not comprehending how their words or behaviour affect other people, not considering the consequences of their actions. In kids, it can be caused due to maturity at different rates, lack of sleep, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and many more.

This is all about how impulsiveness can interfere in your normal routine life if not checked at the right time. However, I am impulsive to the extent that I try to do things in a hurry, and we all know “Haste makes waste.” Though I don’t show hastiness all the time, nevertheless, I need to work upon fixing it as it amounts to carelessness. Moreover, this can cause issues in the long run. They do not seem like such a big deal now, but as I grow, these issues would expand with me. Therefore, it is imperative to understand and try to solve this problem right at the beginning.

It has now been my constant effort to maintain calm and focus on things as they come rather than hurrying up doing too many things at a time. In fact, this may be another reason that my mind is preoccupied with too many things at the same time and you all know, too much work can put pressure on you, and you tend to make mistakes. So, relaxation of mind and body is imperative to deal with situations amicably. I have started to take better command of my temper, resulting in increased patience, I also am more focused and less fidgety in class and I have started to become less overdemanding of others. I am beginning to fix my spontaneity and find myself much at ease; however, it would take a while to achieve it. As you know, ‘old habits die hard.’ At school, we have regular counselling sessions and the counsellor says we can, and we will work towards making a positive change. I know that I can do it because I have the willpower. The psychometric test has pointed out my good qualities like I am gregarious, clever, visionary, confident and have a loving attitude. The ideal balance would be to overcome my weaknesses and build on my strengths. This would help me to achieve my goals without any obstructions.

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” -Harold Wilson