Newton’s Third Law states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Now I know this applies to physics in the regard of motion and forces but don’t we deal with Newton’s Third Law everyday in Life?
We do.
When we have conversations or interactions with people, the majority of the time a topic of discussion comes up. And the end result is usually, two or more parties agreeing or disagreeing (i.e. equal and opposite reaction). But in dealing with the opposite reaction, the question also remains how?
My son is 13, going through the growing pains of being a teenager, preparing for high school, being the oldest and coming into his own, finding his niche. And with that comes tension, attitude, debate, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of positives but let’s be real here. He’s a teenager. So often times, as a result of his growing pains, he and the rest of the family (myself and his sisters) become contact forces/interactions.
He feels as though he needs to react to everything. And often times, in a way where the force that he’s exerting is of the opposite reaction to the topic or subject at hand.
I hope I’m making sense. lol.
He is at this stage in his life, where I’m trying to teach him how much force he needs to react to situations or whatever is exerting their own energy on him.
Life is always going to exert forces on us that are strong and some that are weak. We’re going to come across situations that force us to evaluate in a split second how to react. Some strong forces need an opposite strong force in order to dissipate and some strong forces need a “weak” or minuscule force to dissipate. It’s all about what’s at the center of the force.
And then in some cases, you’ll have forces that don’t need any additional force or forces to counteract them and they’ll dissipate on their own from running out of energy.
Reactions to Life is a learning experience for everyone. We do have to evaluate how much energy we are going to put into a situation or a person. But ultimately, we’ll be better able to make those split decisions with little to no negative recourse.
So the question is, how much energy are you exerting?