So, I came across an article on LinkedIn called: The 3-Second Trick From Craig Ferguson That Will Help You Manage Your Emotions by Justin Bariso
So I read the article, and I thought this is wonderful advice. I have to tell others. So, I told my son. I told my dog. He didn’t really care. And now I’m telling you, because considering the events of last week and the whole Rosanne Barr fiasco, we live in a world where a tweet can ruin a career, or at least get a show cancelled. And so these three questions would apply to any form of communication, I would think – tweets, posts, conversations, letters, and even gestures. So what is this three-second trick? Well, they’re three powerful questions.
According to Bariso, Craig Ferguson said, in an interview, that he asks himself these three questions before speaking.
- Does this need to be said?
- Does this need to be said by me?
- Does this need to be said by me, now?
Not easy to learn and Ferguson joked that it took him three marriages to do so. But when I read these questions I thought, in a world so quick to judge, so quick to tweet, to make assumptions, to assume guilt and motivation without all the facts, wouldn’t it be nice if we just took a moment and pondered what we should or shouldn’t say.
Of course, that’s not going to happen. There is rage in the world and people with political agendas and just your good old run-of-the-mill Troll. So, I don’t hold out much hope for a global change, but maybe one or two people will find this advice useful. I know I have. I’ve already used it today.
And so when I asked myself the questions…
- Does this need to be said? The answer was no.
- Does this need to be said by me? The answer was no.
- Does this need to be said by me, now? The answer was no.
And that was it. I didn’t have to answer. I was done. I could go on with my day.
In the past, I would have been left pondering what I should say, and how I should say it, and it would be on my mind, and I’d be feeling quite uneasy about it, and I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on other things, but with those three questions, I immediately knew not to worry about it. You either speak, or you don’t. And if you don’t need to speak it lets you move on with your day. It lets you get on with life and put your energy towards better things.
lifeisanact 