I was spending time with a friend this past week when he received an email that upset him.  His demeanor immediately changed.  Instead of enjoying the company and beautiful view from where we were, he was angrily typing a response.

Everyone agreed.  Wait until the morning.

I admitted to him that I historically I have zero avoidance, and therefore, waiting to have tough conversations (or send email replies) has not been a strength of mine.  

Said otherwise, I have sent more emails that I regret sending the next day than emails I wish I would have sent the night before.

It is something I continue to work on.

I told my friend that the bottom line is that, “Sometimes the best response is no response.”

Or as the Dalai Lama said, “At times, you need to understand that silence is the best answer.”

From an outside perspective, this was certainly the case.  It was an email that ignoring all together would have been more powerful than any reply.  The reply gave power to the words.  Silence would have communicated that it wasn’t important.

Again, I recognize this can be a weakness of my own.  Seeing it in real time with an outside perspective taught me a lot.  So this week make sure you think through your responses to negative situations.  It isn’t always easy to show self restraint, but sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

Welcome to the Limitless Podcast with Nathan Jovanelly.  Thanks for tuning in.