“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” -Charles R. Swindoll
I disagree with Swindoll. We all react. Animals do not control their first impulses. Saying or doing something without thinking is the unconscious mind running the show. It is our survival instincts. A reaction is based in the moment and doesn’t take into account your analysis of the information. It is the first answer, which is not necessarily and probably not the best answer.
We do control how our responses. We must engage our unconscious to understand why we thought what we did so those biases can be changed over time. Awareness is key for this and to step back once noticing to evaluate.