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Weekly Tools and Tips to Improve Any Relationship

August 1, 2017

Helping Reds Not Regret Their Words

On our recent Facebook post where we asked Reds what the hardest part about being a Red is, we noticed multiple comments from Reds saying the hardest part about being a Red is zipping their lips. In other words, several commenters talked about how it is hard to keep their mouths shut.

Since several of our Facebook users mentioned this challenge, we thought we’d offer a few suggestions that may help you refrain from speaking too hastily.

1. Think About Other People’s Feelings First

One of our commenters mentioned the hardest part about being a Red is, “trying not to hurt people’s feelings with my direct opinions all the time – keeping my mouth shut.” We think she’s awesome for recognizing people’s feelings and thought it might be helpful for Reds to try to think more about their friends feelings rather than their need to voice their opinion if it’s one that may cause bad blood. Let’s say your friend dyes their hair blonde, and it looks pretty terrible. They may be either A. Already beating themselves up about it and hoping other people don’t think it looks as bad as they do or B. They like their hair and could be pretty offended if you said anything to the contrary. Even if you think they made a mistake, take a second to think about the impact of your words before you say anything. It basically boils down to the famous “Bambi” quote, “If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”

2. Take Five and Educate Someone Else

Let’s say you’re at work and your boss says something they heard over the weekend that you know is wrong but you also know it would be disrespectful to argue with them. Instead of arguing with them, take a little break when you get the chance, maybe at lunch, and text your spouse or a friend the actual fact. Maybe your boss will never know a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable, but telling someone else this fact may be an outlet for you to feel like you could say something in a context that was more appropriate.

3. Give Yourself a Limit

Reds, it’s not like we want you to be silent participants in life. We need you. We think you’re awesome. If you know you’re right and someone else is suffering from wrong information and they NEED to be educated with the facts, speak up! Alternatively, everyone makes mistakes and you probably will have those days when you speak too hastily and offend someone or you annoy someone with your constant argument winning. If you happen to do this, make sure you set a limit for yourself on how much you can be outspoken in one day. If you’re having a rough morning and fail to zip your lips in situations that called for it more than 3 times, try to take yourself out of a situation where you might do it again if possible.

 

Reds, we hope our suggestions help you find it a little easier to keep quiet in the right situations. We are all about helping each other become better—or more “charactered” as we like to call it. Are there any Reds out there who have additional advice? Let us know by commenting under this post.

–The Color Code Team