I love the story of the little boy who had a bad temper. To solve the problem, his dad gave him a bag of nails and told the little boy that every time he lost his temper he had to go out and drive a nail into a fence post. Over a period of time, the youngster gained full control of his temper.
Then, the father instructed the lad to pull the nails out. He did, and returned to tell his father the job was done. The father pointed out that though the nails were no longer there, the holes were left as a reminder that the nails had been driven into the post. Yes, the nails had been removed, but the holes remained.
That’s the way it is when we lose our temper and offend and/or hurt someone else. We can apologize, but frequently it takes a considerable length of time for the wound to heal. Fortunately, we can control our temper far better than we realize.
Example: There has probably been a time when you and your friend or associate have been involved in one of those “knock-down, drag-out” arguments when, during the heat of the argument, the telephone rang, and you reached over, lifted the receiver and pleasantly said, “Hello.” In short, when it became important to control your temper, you did.
Suggestion to myself: The next time you’re in a heated discussion and it is getting out of hand, just start patting your foot and repeating, “Telephone.” Remember, you can control your temper. Besides, it’s far too valuable to lose. If I take that approach I might have something to smile about.
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