A friend of mine would go to his desk, take out a piece of paper and write a letter to the person who angered him.

I realize that this is the digital era and paper is so – well, slow.

But he poured out his angry thoughts each and every time, signed the letter and put it in his top drawer where it remained until the next morning at which time he reread it and threw it in the trash can – unsent.

In fact, he never mailed even one angry letter this way.

All he needed was time – time to calm down, think things over and respond rather than react.

He saved a lot of friends and much unhappiness as a result.

Even with smartphones and instant access to each other, there are ways to do the same thing today.  

Pour out your thoughts and feelings and then save the draft to be reviewed the next day.   I’ll wager you will promptly drag that draft into your digital trashcan.

The cure for anger is the perspective that comes with time – even a little time — something that is very difficult to find in our Twitterific world.

Ambrose Bierce put it best:

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret”.

We have the power to put anger on “pause”.