Just give it a day

Most things are never as bad after you sleep on it.

Think about the times you’ve been angry. You blow up at the grocery clerk for being too slow; you blame the auto mechanic for your car’s problems; you jump at your kids for making a mess.

It seems disastrous at the time. It’s a big deal. It’s a pain in the neck. But, except for death, it’s not life or death.

We (I) react to things that don’t go our way as if the world were going to end because of it.

It won’t, never has yet, anyway.

I blow and rant and rave and cry and cry some more. But, sure enough, the sun comes up in the morning and I adjust.

Why can’t I just delay that anger one day. If it was bad enough to get angry about on Monday, it will still be bad enough to get angry about on Tuesday. Come Tuesday, if I’m still mad, then I can rant.

Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you deal with it is what makes the difference. Virginia Satir

Just give it time. Just think it through.

If the anger was warranted, then it will still be there the next day, but the shock will have worn off, so we can react with clearer heads. With clear heads, we’re able to work on the problem which made us angry instead of creating new ones.

Some email problems let you “unsend” messages. In real life, unkind words, once said, can’t be unsent. Stop, breathe, sleep on it, then decide if you want to buy into day-old anger.