SYSTEM 1: THE IMPRESSION-TO-ACTION SEQUENCE

 

SYSTEM 1: THE IMPRESSION-TO-ACTION SEQUENCE

How Your Mind Actually Works

What This System Is

This explains the basic process that happens every time you do anything voluntarily. It's the pipeline from "something happens" to "you take action."

The Steps

1. An impression appears - Something presents itself to your mind (you see an angry face, hear criticism, feel hunger, remember a deadline)

2. You assent (or don't) - Your mind either accepts the impression as true or rejects it ("Yes, that person is angry at me" or "No, they're just having a bad day")

3. An impulse forms - Based on your assent, you feel moved to act ("I should defend myself" or "I should let it go")

4. You act - The impulse becomes behavior (you argue back, or you stay silent)

Why This Matters:

Most people think: External event → Automatic reaction

The truth is: External event → Impression → Your assent → Impulse → Action

That middle step—your assent—is where you have complete control. Nothing forces you to accept an impression as true. You can pause, examine it, and decide whether to assent.

Real Example:

Someone cuts you off in traffic.

- Impression: "That driver is a jerk who disrespected me"

- Automatic assent: ll you accept this as true

- Impulse: Anger, desire to retaliate

- Action: You honk, tailgate, or rage

With this system understood:

- Impression: "That driver cut me off"

- Examination: "Wait—is this about me? Maybe they didn't see me, or they're rushing to the hospital"

- Modified assent: "This is just an external event. It doesn't affect my character"

- No impulse to rage

- Action: Continue driving calmly

The Power:

Once you understand this sequence, you realize: You're not a victim of circumstances. Every action you take flows through your assent. And assent is always up to you.

This system explains why Stoic training focuses so much on examining impressions—because that's where you intervene in the sequence before automatic reactions take over.

In one sentence: Your actions don't come from external events; they come from whether you accept the impressions those events create—and that acceptance is always your choice.

In describing System 1 in more accessible language, we lose some of the rigor of logical representation. There is is equivocation in the use of the word action. Normally, in Stoicism, “action” is internal or mental action. The assented to proposition, or impulse, is my action.  My “action” is _my_choice.