The 24 Hour Rule: How to Use It At Home or Work

Have you ever said something that you later regret? At that moment, did you wish your life would rewind like an old tape player so you could capture those damaging words? I know I have had this situation many times in my life and I want to re-introduce an old but often forgotten tip called the 24 hour rule. Read below for ways to save relationships at home and work using this great rule.

Great reading,

Diane

 P.S. Welcome to all of my new readers from Peerless Industrial Group, Family and Children’s Center, Benchmark Electronics, Lawrence Transportation Company, Legacies, LLC., All Trades Service, Pet Medical Center, Merchants Bank, Winona National Bank, Mississippi Welders Supply, Winona State University. I am excited to share my tips with you each week.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tia was having problems with her boss’s reaction to her need for more flexible hours. She recently had a child and was having troubles with her new day care which would often make her just a few minutes late for work. Her boss was showing his irritation with her tardiness so she fired off an email stating how she thought the company should offer more flexible hours and get with the times. As soon as she hit that “send” button, Tia knew she had just done something horribly wrong. She had reacted in a moment of anger with a person that had a large stake in her success at work. She wished she could recall the message without her boss seeing it…. but it was too late.

 Many of us have been in a similar situation with someone at work or even a child, spouse or relative at home. One of the most difficult things to do in a moment of anger is not overreact. It just feels so great to formulate your quick, witty response when we are hurt and leave that voice mail message or send that email to make ourselves feel better.

 So what could Tia do the next time she faces a moment of anger with her boss or others? She should practice the tried and true 24 hour rule:

• Write the vicious email ,letter or thoughts you would like to say on paper so as to get them out of your head

• Read them several times so you feel like you actually delivered them • Wait 24 hours before you take action on them

• The next day reread them and make a decision about sending

• If you do not choose to send the original message, throw it out, or better yet, shred them so they never have a chance of reaching the recipient

• Rewrite the message in softer terms, or better yet, pick up the phone or speak “in person” about how they made you feel with their message.

I know that all of us have heard of this old rule but only a handful of us use this. Why? Because it is not easy to wait that long to make a response to something that hurts us. But I guarantee a better outcome for you if you wait. I have written countless letters only to read them the next day and be appalled at what I was saying and how I was saying it. The thought of me almost sending the message sends shivers down my spine 24 hours later.

Now many of you are thinking right now that you have applied this rule but instead used the 1, 2, 5 or 12 hour rule. I think it is great that you waited even one hour but I really believe waiting 24 hours is the best because all the adrenaline that was in your body when you wrote the awful retort needs 24 hours to leave your body so you can see your message with fresh eyes and a fresh heart.

Question for You:

Are you often impulsive in your reactions to being hurt? Have you said many things to others that are important in your life that you wish you could retract?

Answer for You:

Take out and dust off this old but effective rule of waiting 24 hours. Try using the steps above before you make that costly mistake of responding “in kind” without being kind.

“Patience is the companion of wisdom”

Saint Augustine

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>