Chuck The Impulses!

We all have impulses to engage in non-necessary behavior. Most of the time, those impulses have a negative impact on our daily lives.

Impulsive behavior is animalistic, rooted in the lizard-like portion of our brains, the fight-or-flight part of the gray matter.

Most of the impulse behavior in modern society is learned from our environment. This statement may seem oxymoronic, but it is true. We learn to impulse buy from commercials, from our peers, from garish, in-your-face marketing that makes us feel inadequate if we do not have the latest and greatest whatever-it-is. We learn impulsive behaviors towards others outside our peer group, usually negative ("Look at that fucking hipster!" "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that" "How can they live THERE?" etc.) almost by osmosis, as a type of camouflage, or as a coping mechanism.

What we are really doing when we act on impulse is ignoring the human part of our brain, the part that requires us to intake and then process data, examine the data, and then make a decision based on the extrapolation of the best (or worst) possible outcomes. When we act impulsively, we deny our very humanity and excuse ourselves from the thought processes that make us unique as a species.

We also lose something when we act impulsively: time. We lose the time it takes to think, we lose the time it takes to formulate an appropriate response to a situation, and we lose the time it takes to analyze the results of our decision making process.

When we speak impulsively, we lose the time it takes to form coherent and unique statements. When we eat impulsively, we lose the time to appreciate the nourishment we're receiving (we often wolf down those impulse meals, don't we?). When we buy impulsively, we lose the time it takes to make informed financial decisions, and end up with a bunch of shit that we don't use or want for the most part. When we react to social situations impulsively, we lose the time it takes to make a good impression, the time it takes for other people to judge you (or to judge others, and if you say you don't judge other people, you're full of shit.)

When we chuck the impulse to act impulsively (convoluted but accurate), we allow ourselves to become more human.

We are allowing ourselves mental breathing room.

We are allowing ourselves to be self-defining instead of letting our impulse behaviors define us.

We gain more control over our immediate environment, our thoughts, our actions and others' perceptions of us.

We leave the realm of the split second  and enter the realm of time well spent.

Impulsive behavior is automatic behavior. Do you want to be an automaton?

Chuck the impulses.