Think Before You Speak

Has anyone ever said something to you that really hurt your feelings? Have you ever said something to someone and saw their reaction, and felt like sticking your foot in your mouth? If so, I bet you had to do some major damage control afterwards. 

None of us are perfect, and we all mess up at times. We've all said something that we regret afterwards. The trick is to prevent as many of those hurtful and insulting moments from happening in the first place. Damage control does take a lot of effort and sometimes you can't ever repair the damage.

If more people just got into the habit of thinking before they speak, a lot less people would have hurt feelings. Even just pausing for a moment before saying something works.

Basically, anytime that there is some doubt in your mind about what you are going to say, how to say it (or if you should even say it at all), take a pause and then respond (or just keep quiet). 

Certainly, you don't have to pause before saying everything- just when there is a little birdie in your head tweeting in your ear, "Danger ahead, tread carefully!". Also, if you are ever just tempted to give someone unrequested "feedback" (aka criticism), the best thing might be to not say anything at all.

Unless a person has specifically given you permission by asking you to give them feedback, the best rule would be to refrain- unless its a compliment of course. Compliments are a good thing!

So, try this out today... before saying something to someone that has the potential to be hurtful or even insulting; pause and think first. You will be on your way to learning how to say things in a better way and refrain from saying things that can hurt others. One major benefit of doing this is, having much deeper more long lasting relationships.