Fly Trap

Do you ever find yourself talking and talking and talking so that your mouth is pretty much open like a fly trap?  I happened to find myself doing that very thing today, venting about a frustrating experience.

I'm reminded of a very common phrase, although you may need to forgive my Polish spin to it if it comes out wrong!  "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

We all catch ourselves talking about other people behind their backs in a negative manner.  I'm guilty of it myself, and just in the last hour, too!  Now, I know it's a useful thing to be able to vent your frustrations to another person.  But think about how you would feel if you were the one being talked about and you were a fly on the wall listening to the conversation.  Some of the things coming out of my mouth were not so nice, and I would have felt hurt if someone said them about me.  Funny thing is, I could even say that I've done some of the things that I was venting about!

It's difficult to be nice all the time.  I'm not asking you (nor myself) to do that.  I'm just looking for you (and I) to think a little bit about what we say and to whom.  Not everyone needs to know how another person "wronged" you.  Not everyone needs to know how you feel about it.  While it's not easy, sometimes we should just keep our fly traps shut and learn to "take one for the team," as we discussed in a previous post.

So, here's my promise to start right now.  I will not let my mouth be the fly trap that it usually is.  I will look for the positive things that happen and talk about those.  I will refrain from venting about negative events.  After all, won't this help me smile more (another flash back to a previous post!)?