I read this article by Deepak Shinde on how one should respond and not react. I have attached the forward that I had got which was his article. I am unable to find any online reference to the article, so I hope I am not violating any copyright laws.
I agree 100% with what he says. Respond and not React. When faced with a situation or a crisis, wait a while, let the rush die down, think about what has happened and think intelligently on a way to undo or counter the event that just happened.
I am usually criticized for not bothering about happenings and taking things coolly at all times. Maybe this article will help you realize the way I behave. Of course, I am not very intelligent to respond effectively each time, and I have had my outbursts many a time (especially in the recent past), but most of the times I really don’t bother about things and I seem to come off very passive. I however reserve my comments on whether I am really passive, or whether I am thinking of a response. 
Anyway, the point that i am trying to make is that it is all well and fine to think about responding all the time, but that is not practically possible every time. I believe that you have train your mind for eventualities by playing it out in your mind and thinking of possible responses. It is sort of like a game of chess. You think of a move, then you think of your opponents counter to that move, then think of your counter to your opponents counter and then the next move and so on. Only when you are certain that all possibilities after making the move are in your favor, then only you should make the move.
A case in point is a near miss that I had with a bus recently. I have always prepared for eventualities while learning to drive the car. Eventualities such as a dog or child running in front of the car, a vehicle stopping suddenly in front, swerving to avoid something but at the same time looking to the sides and behind so that I don’t cause an accident with the adjacent vehicle and many more. I keep playing such things out in my mind. People say, don’t think of bad incidents – your thoughts might just make it happen. I believe that it is good as it prepares me for what to do when it happens. A bus once suddenly swerved into my path on the main road while I was right next to the divider. Instinct would have told me to swerve away from the bus, but had I done that, I would have firstly rammed and dragged my car along the divider. I might have jumped into oncoming traffic had the divider been smaller. I might have bounced off the divider back into the bus too.
But somehow my hand kept the steering dead straight and my foot pressed down hard on the brake. I kept a straight line and missed the bus by a few cms and I didn’t hit the divider either. Worst come worst, I would have banged the left front of the car into the bus and would have had only that much damage, as compared to what would have happened had I rubbed against the divider.
So, to respond, you have to be prepared with a response. I think there was a technical term, but I would call it ‘Intelligent Sub-Conscious Reaction’. Reacting itself is bad, but reacting intelligently is the best. You end up doing the correct thing, and also you do it immediately without wasting time.
What do you think? Do you too conjure up such incidents and prepare yourself for eventualities?
Update: I think the term is conditioning. You got to condition your mind for an eventuality.
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