My 24 Hour Rule
I'm a pretty emotional guy and usually that works pretty well for me. I wear my emotions on my sleeve - if something pisses me off I'll let you know, and if something excites me you can see it on my face. My passion for my work (and life in general) tends to lead to good things. I'd like to think that it's played a large part in all of the amazing opportunities I've had in my life and the great relationships I've developed.
BUT, sometimes my emotions can get the best of me. Usually, it happens like this - I get a little TOO excited about an opportunity and commit myself to something that I realistically will struggle to do. Occasionally it's worse - my brutal honesty leads to me saying things I probably shouldn't say to people, and I end up having to apologize for not thinking before I open my mouth.
One time in college I sent an ill-advised email to an ex-girlfriend, which she promptly printed out and forwarded to all of her friends and made me look like the biggest ass ever. Long after her and I reconciled, I never felt comfortable around all of those people that had read the note and rushed to judgement about me. I certainly didn't blame them, I blamed myself for not checking myself before acting.
What was my solution: a 24 hour rule that I now use all the time. If I'm excited about a business opportunity, I wait 24 hours before committing to anything. If I want to make an impulse purchase, I wait a day and see if I feel the same way. If someone pisses me off and I want to go bat-shit crazy on them, I wait 24 hours before acting. More often than not I feel differently the next day than I did initially, and I save myself a whole lot of trouble.
Being the emotional guy I am, I don't know how I could get by without this rule. If I didn't have it I'd probably have a laundry list of occasions that I regretted like that instance back in college. Bottom line - learning to think, really think, before I act has been a large part of my maturation process, and I wonder what the world would be like if everyone played by my 24 hour rule. How many divorces would be avoided? How many crimes wouldn't be committed? How many people would live an overall higher quality of life? Just food for thought...
BUT, sometimes my emotions can get the best of me. Usually, it happens like this - I get a little TOO excited about an opportunity and commit myself to something that I realistically will struggle to do. Occasionally it's worse - my brutal honesty leads to me saying things I probably shouldn't say to people, and I end up having to apologize for not thinking before I open my mouth.
One time in college I sent an ill-advised email to an ex-girlfriend, which she promptly printed out and forwarded to all of her friends and made me look like the biggest ass ever. Long after her and I reconciled, I never felt comfortable around all of those people that had read the note and rushed to judgement about me. I certainly didn't blame them, I blamed myself for not checking myself before acting.
What was my solution: a 24 hour rule that I now use all the time. If I'm excited about a business opportunity, I wait 24 hours before committing to anything. If I want to make an impulse purchase, I wait a day and see if I feel the same way. If someone pisses me off and I want to go bat-shit crazy on them, I wait 24 hours before acting. More often than not I feel differently the next day than I did initially, and I save myself a whole lot of trouble.
Being the emotional guy I am, I don't know how I could get by without this rule. If I didn't have it I'd probably have a laundry list of occasions that I regretted like that instance back in college. Bottom line - learning to think, really think, before I act has been a large part of my maturation process, and I wonder what the world would be like if everyone played by my 24 hour rule. How many divorces would be avoided? How many crimes wouldn't be committed? How many people would live an overall higher quality of life? Just food for thought...
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