---
title: "Create the life you yearn for: The power of choosing creation over reaction"
description: "Every moment offers a choice: reaction or creation. Learn how one conscious breath can shift you from chaos to intention and help you create the life you yearn for."
image: https://yvonnejohnston.co.za/hubfs/Create%20the%20life%20you%20want.jpg
---
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# Create the life you yearn for: The power of choosing creation over reaction
February 10, 2026
This is about consciously choosing how you respond to life, and what it throws at you. Do you know that the words REACTION and CREATION contain the same eight letters? And this is your choice, 3000 times a day. You can react to people, to situations, to external factors, plunging you into victim mode, putting yourself on the back foot. In all likelihood, causing chaos and misery.
Or you can choose Creation. What I mean by this is consciously reflecting what life you want to create? This is about being mindful, intentional.
Mindfulness takes just one breath. In the moment, stop, take one breath and ask yourself this question, “what do I want to create here?” And then operate from that space. Stay connected to the vision, to the big picture.
If you want to create harmony, then be harmonious. If you want kindness, be kind, if you want love, be loving. **It all starts with you.**
Coaching questions:
When do I default to Reaction instead of Creation, and what does that pattern reveal about how I see myself in relation to life?
If I paused for one conscious breath before responding to tension, conflict, or uncertainty, what kind of person would I consistently choose to be?
What am I currently creating, through my tone, energy, and choices, that contradicts the life I say I want, and what would alignment look like instead?
Yvonne Johnston
Leadership & Self-Mastery Coach
Yvonne Johnston is a Master Coach, former CEO of Brand South Africa, and Harvard speaker with over 40 years of leadership experience. She works with senior executives and individuals ready to get clear and make change that sticks.
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