With 34 years of data now, I can confidently say that I have never once lost my temper and afterwards said, “I’m so glad I did that.” A corollary to this: I don’t recall the last time I spent time on social media and felt better after either. A corollary to this corollary: I regret almost every time I have expressed an opinion on social media. I don’t necessarily regret the opinion, I regret the lapse in self-control that culminated with me shouting into the void. 

Ryan Holiday (Link to original post)

There was much to take in Ryan’s recent post, but that part really hit home.

As a second generation Italian growing up to immigrant parents, I can tell you with certainty that Italians are very passionate people. This leads us to flare up a lot.

Some days, we’ll scream if the sky is blue.

Learning how to regulate my emotions and ease up on my temper has been an ongoing battle. Sometimes, I think I’ll have a victory in one area of my life, only to have it come up somewhere else—the car being the prime candidate.

This past year, I’ve had to try harder than ever to keep my emotions in check. All it took was one of my kids to spill something (which, they’re kids, of course they’re going to spill stuff) or one more request from someone (not thinking I could just say no) for the bubble to pop.

And it’s always for nothing.

Then there’s the time on social media. I no longer look at it as the tool of communication I hoped it would be. Every time I would login, it would only take a few minutes before I could feel my blood pressure rise. Sometimes I would lash out and other times, I would carry that with me. It would come out in some other way.

Again, all for nothing.

I don’t regret my passion, but I do regret my temper.

It just took a long time to figure out the two could be separated.