“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.”
(Lao-Tse)

Your spouse accuses you (falsely) of doing something thoughtless, without even questioning you first.

Your teenager screams about your obvious lack of love, conveniently forgetting everything you’ve done up for her to that point.

Your boss neglects to mention your contribution to a project she’s now claiming as her victory.

Like it or not, these are the moments that shape your days and weeks and years to come. The key is whether you allow yourself to react, or give yourself the chance to respond instead. Here are some possible intelligent responses to these unintelligent treatments:

To your boss: “I was thrilled to work on this project with you, and I am proud of what we accomplished.”

To your teen: “Obviously you’re upset with me, which is totally okay. If you can specify what you’d like me to do differently, I’d love to hear it.”

To your spouse: “Honey, I love you, but I don’t love being accused like that. If I’ve hurt you accidentally, I do want to know it, so could you start over from the beginning?”

Peace begins with pause,