![An alarm clock on a nightstand, symbolizing signals that prompt habitual responses, much like our feelings, as discussed in our blog post 'Feelings Do Not Command Us'.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/863700acb4034373acb34c65bc80539f.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_669,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/863700acb4034373acb34c65bc80539f.jpg)
If we train ourselves to always start the coffee maker once we hear the alarm in the morning, eventually we'll start doing it automatically without thinking about it.
But no matter how long we do this routine, be it 1 week or 10 years, we'll never think that the alarm is the one commanding us to do it. The alarm is only a signal and it's the habits we've formed in reaction to this signal that we're automatically following.
And this is the same for some of our feelings.
For example, if we automatically start to scream and shout whenever we feel angry. It's not our anger that's making us do this. It's the habits we've formed in dealing with our anger. If we wanted to, we can train ourselves to count to 10 whenever we start to feel angry or wait until we've calmed down before we start talking.
It might seem like it's our anger that's commanding our behavior. Just like, it might seem that it's the alarm commanding us to start the coffee maker. But in both cases, we're only flowing the habits we've created in reaction to the signals we're receiving.
Our feelings don't command us. They're only signals telling us the state of our external and internal world and the state of our external and internal well-being.
If we automatically go into reaction because of our feelings, it's because of the habits we've formed around them and not because of the feelings themselves.
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