Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
– Viktor Emil Frankl
This is, of course, an essential part of mindfulness.
Notice the stimulus, notice the (automatic) response. Notice how my mind creates its experience of the stimulus. Notice the associations. Notice the response.
The more noticing and the more noticing of the space its all happening within, the more space there is to relate to both more intentionally.