Strong emotions and send buttons

I was outraged. And rightly so.

So I wrote a stinging email to my manager. When I finished writing, my fingers were cramped. Smoke came out of my ears.

On the screen, I saw my anger in all its glory.

Just when I wanted to press send, I hesitated.

I breathed in, and I breathed out.

What would happen after sending this email?

I would be relieved. But also worried about what I had written. And probably misunderstood by my manager.

After a long pause, I took the email, crumpled it up, and threw it in the digital wastebasket.

Since then, I have had a simple rule to protect myself:

Keep strong emotions away from Send buttons.

Any send buttons. Whether email, Whatsapp, or Facebook.

Practical tip: when writing an email, make it a habit to put in the recipient last. This will give you a much-needed moment to reflect.