Last night I said something at the wrong time. My wife was asking my opinion about some Christmas gifts she bought, and my response was less than gracious.
To make matters worse, I responded in front of her family and embarrassed her. While her family agreed with me, the timing was not right, and neither was my tone.
This afternoon I read a chapter from John Maxwell’s book on the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - the truth hit me square between the eyes.
Saying the right thing at the wrong time, does not make the right thing right. What we receive from that action is resistance, and I saw it plainly in my wife’s defense of herself.
Like a good husband, I ask my wife’s forgiveness in front of her family - that second part was hard. She smiled and her eyes sparkled - a happy wife, and life was happy again.
What we do in public must be settled in public if things go wrong.
We cannot expect one bad reaction to not need an equal one to remedy it. There is a balance and simplicity to every decision we make.
Thankfully, my life is blessed with a wonderful family, great friends, and good books. The decisions I make are always under the microscope. It makes the bad ones turn good.
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