Impulses are very strong forces that push us to act. But the reason why you really need to stand up to them and veto them is because they are produced by all sorts of things, not always good things.
An impulse can be explained as a sudden strong urge to do something. A lot can trigger the urge to do something and the scariest part about impulses is that they make you feel like that's the only option at the moment.
Sometimes they're right and that's the only option, but they're not always right. Sometimes they've just been triggered by something/the heat of the moment which blinds you from other options. And if you only consider your options you'd find a better course of action.
Look at some examples: you're walking on a lonely street and you hear a woman cry for help. You'll get the impulse to rush to her rescue, especially if you're a big strong fearless person who is confident in their self-defense skills, or if you're armed (seriously, weak people can't really relate).
But if you calm down with the impulse and don't act in a rush you might discover good reasons to think it's a trap. You might discover calling the police or people who aren't far away is a better option.
That example is probably not enough to show you how not rushing to act on an impulse would make you a better person, so let's look at some more.
Say you're walking through a crowd and someone steps on you, your first impulse might be to say something rude or revenge even though they're apologizing profusely.
In some situations, they deserve to be shouted at or paid back the favor, but in some situations, it wasn't their fault because of the crowd, positioning, and all, but how would you know if you don't simmer down for a second to think about it?
Say someone lends you some money, then the time to pay back comes, and you have the money to pay back but you have the strong feeling to just keep the money and not pay it back. People do this all the time because they can't fight the impulse to keep the money.
But if you're the sort of person who knows that feelings are to be stood up to, and things should be done not because of how you feel; in situations like these, you would be able to push that feeling and do what the good and logically correct thing to do is.
Conclusion
So, clearly, this is something we should strive for. When you get the feeling/urge to do something, stopping to think first should be your habit, as difficult as it is.
This is also kind of against human nature because we mostly act in the heat of the moment, but this is still something we should strive to do.
And if you fail always try to retrace your steps, make up for your actions/inactions, apologize, or whatever the situation requires.
The End
[Little Cover art created by myself]
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