There are some people who have a habit of acting without thinking – because they are not alert most of the time. They are creatures of habit. The compulsive eaters come under this category; they eat ice creams, for instance, without thinking - even when they have severe cold. They eat a lot of food by habit whether they are hungry or not – and become obese. There are also the compulsive drinkers – who keep drinking every day whether they need a drink or not; these persons keep drinking every day until they get drunk. After some time, drinking becomes a habit with them – and eventually, they become alcoholics and destroy themselves.
There are many persons who act without thinking and regret immediately. I know an old gentleman who hit a child on the head just because the ball with which the child was playing hit his car which was parked nearby. When the parents of the child came to protest, he regretted and apologized profusely. Children do these things and when such things happen, the elders should not act impulsively without thinking. There are many people who act impulsively and commit crimes, even heinous crimes – without thinking. If only they pause for a while (and count say, from 1 to 10), many of them would refrain from committing those heinous crimes.
In the Telugu language, there is an expression called, “Pulliah Vemvaram”. Once upon a time, in a small village in the Andhra Pradesh, a land lord told his servant Pulliah, “Heh, Pulliah, tomorrow morning, you will have to go to Vemvaram (another small village a few miles away)”. The next morning, the land Lord was looking for Pulliah but he was no where to be seen. After some time, Pulliah makes an appearance and informs the land lord with beaming countenance, which was also oozing delight and satisfaction for a job well executed, “Sir, I went to Vemvaram early in the morning and came back”. The land lord was aghast. He said, “Why did you go to Vemvaram and what did you do there?” Pulliah answered innocently, “I do not know all that. Last night you told me to go to Vemvaram and early in the morning, I went there as instructed by you - and came back!” These are the people who do things mechanically.
The persons, who act mechanically without thinking, do so because their father or mother did act in this manner under similar circumstances – and they think it is the right thing to do even now. They refuse to think for themselves. I know a gentleman who got his daughter married (a few years ago) when she was just 14 years – because his father did exactly the same thing for his sister when she was 14. If only he gave a thought to this – he would have realized that what his father did to his sister may have been alright perhaps in those days – but it certainly is not alright in these modern times. Thus, the tendency to act without thinking is a habit, which runs in some families. These people believe in tradition – tradition takes precedence always in their lives over intelligent and thoughtful living.
If a young person has a habit of acting mechanically without thinking, he needs guidance to overcome this habit. He will overcome this habit, only if you were to sit with him and help him overcome the habit. This is positive thinking and you will be seeding a wholesome, new, positive approach and attitude in the youngster, when you guide him properly and positively in this manner.
When you act or decide mechanically without thinking, things will go wrong - most of the time. When they go wrong, you worry – then, worry becomes your main preoccupation. When you are not worrying, your mind is either napping or snoozing. Life's important things always catch us napping, because we are not alert.
Further, if a person commits a mistake now, the consequences of this mistake will catch up with him only some time in future. By not correcting this habit of acting first and then thinking later, you are not only making your present unhappy, but you are committing your future also to unhappiness.
The next thought is about “Saying without thinking”
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