Abraham Lincoln To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” 

There’s a story about the U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln that we can all learn from when we feel the urge to do something rash.

Legend said, when Lincoln would get angry, rather than taking it out on that person directly, he’d write a long letter, stating his case to why they were wrong, and what he wanted them to know, and so on.

Then he would fold up the letter, place it in a drawer, and never send it.

Lincoln knew, as many of us know, that it’s easy to fight back.

It’s tempting to give them a piece of your mind.

But you almost always end up with regret.

Wishing you hadn’t said what you said, or sent that nasty email, or taking it out on customer service. To care for him/her can also be a spinoff of what not to do in difficult circumstances. It’s another way to think first before you speak.

As the Greek Stoic philosopher, Epictetus would say, “You were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason.” If you have time to think before you start talking, think.

Ask yourself, writes the Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, it necessary to speak? Will what I have to say harm anyone?

Kind people are never involved in arguments,” The Chinese mystic, Loa-Tzu reminds us, “and those who like to argue are never kind.”

Truthful words are not always pleasant, and pleasant words are not necessarily truthful.