The other day, I had a moment with my son that really taught me something. I was helping him put together a toy rocket that I bought him a while back. At one point, he took part of it and set it on the table across the room. I asked him to bring it back to me, but he didn’t. I asked him again, and just like before, he ignored the request. The third time, I raised my voice and asked him again. He stared at me and looked confused with a little bit of a frightened stare. At that point, I took a deep breath, paused momentarily, and politely asked my son to please pick up the rocket, which he did. Then I asked him politely to bring it to me, and he did. I hugged him and told him he did a good job.

What does this all mean? Sometimes it’s better to handle the situation calmly, and in most instances, you’ll feel better afterward, especially if you get the intended result. The scared look on my son’s face immediately told me I should handle this situation differently, which I did. Lo and behold, it worked. I’m genuinely happy it did and will try to remember times like this in the future. While this moment may seem small and insignificant, it taught me a nice lesson about how calmness can often get the results you want, more so than losing your temper.