Image Courtesy : Free Digital Photos
My sister and I were very mischievous when we were kids. Being the younger of the two, people would take it for granted that I was the more notorious one ( which Swathi would repeatedly insist), without giving me a chance to explain. So I accepted things the way they were and just lived up to the expectations of others(being the notorious one, that is ).

My sister and I did the weirdest of things and however smart we were in pretending, Mom would invariably find out what we were up to in her absence and she would scold us. 90% of the times I never used to listen to her gyan. It so happened that, once when mom was in the middle of scolding us, I caught my sister’s eye and we both started laughing like idiots. Mom was in a fit of rage,but the next minute, to our surprise, she joined us in laughing. Funny how one second can completely change the way you feel.

I narrated the above instance just to show how quickly, within a fraction of a second, our thoughts and feelings change. One second we are extremely angry and another second we are laughing for no reason at all, despite being in the same situation. So after all, it is not an arduous task to control your temper, don’t you agree?

From what I gather, these are some ways by which you can keep your temper under control.

  • There are people who are specifically born to irritate us and annoy us to intolerable levels. Next time they irritate you or annoy you, just think how lucky you are that you did not turn out like them. It is not your job to correct them and make them see sense. If God himself can’t do it, you can never do it. 

  • Ten sentences spoken with love and affection can work wonders rather than one sentence spoken with anger/hatred. If you want people to listen to you and understand you better, first articulate in a manner they can understand. No point blaming them for your ambiguous expressions in the first place.

  • Do not rebuke others for each and every mistake. Even you would have made mistakes in the past. If it is for something trivial, you know its’s not worth spending so much of your energy for it. If it’s critical, you know the gravity of the situation and understand that shouting and criticizing would only make matters worse.

  • Most of the problems occur because of the spur of the moment actions/reactions. If only we took a second to think about it, we would have saved us, the trouble of embarrassing ourselves by losing our temper and acting stupid in front of all.

  • Treat others they way you would like to be treated. Think of the situation from the other person’s point of view. If you were in their place, would you like to be shouted at. they way you are shouting at the other person? 

  • Life should be dealt with properly. Know when to be serious and when to be cool. Come what may, always remain composed, think clearly and be a little patient enough to give your mind a chance to think, before your hand or tongue takes over.

Remember one thing.Raising your voice and losing your temper at the drop of a hat, just to prove a point wouldn’t make others think highly of you. Staying calm, curbing your temper and speaking in a gentle way with others, irrespective of the situation, is what would make you a Great, Inspiring person.