Earlier today, I was jolted awake, not by my alarm, but by a barrage of loud notifications. Turns out, my family group chat was already buzzing with frustration. There had been a misunderstanding between one of our subdivision guards and my uncle, who was supposed to drop by for some errands.
Still half-asleep, I scrolled through the long thread of messages, and just like that, my good morning soured into a heavy disappointment. From what I gathered, the guard denied my uncle entry because he didn’t have an ID, and apparently, our contact number wasn’t saved in their phonebook.
Without much pause, I jumped straight into our HOA’s group chat and started typing an incident report. It was long, detailed, and emotionally charged. I was ready to hit send. But then, something in me hesitated.
I stopped.
I re-read what I had written. Then I scrolled back to the earlier messages. I took a breath.
And I deleted the whole thing.
In that moment, clarity washed over me. The guard wasn’t being rude or unreasonable at all. They were just doing their job, protecting the community. Ours is an exclusive subdivision, and protocol matters.
I’m glad I paused.
It's so easy to let frustration lead the way and fire off words you can’t take back. But reacting from emotion rarely leads to resolution. Most of the time, it just escalates things, and sometimes, unfairly hurts others.
So next time you feel that rush of heat, the urge to lash out, to defend, to be right ---pause. Breathe. Think it through. Consider the ripple effect of your words. Will they cost someone their job? Will they stain your reputation? Will they solve anything at all?
Respond only when your thoughts are clear and your emotions steady.
This morning, I was spared from saying something I might have regretted. The guards were spared from unnecessary blame.
A few hours later, I met with them calmly, offered a solution, and asked them to save my number in their phonebook. I also reintroduced myself, realizing they were new and unfamiliar with the household.
A small misunderstanding turned into a shared lesson.
Sometimes, restraint is the most powerful reaction.
Stay stoic.
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