Think before you open your mouth!

With a range of people, right from ‘Godmen’ to politicians to the layman, shooting off their mouths and then ‘apologizing’; the age old saying of ‘Think before you leap’ has just acquired a new meaning viz. ‘Think before you open your mouth’!

Thinking before speaking is not a new thing, but very few people actually know it and follow this principle. A lot of controversy as well as embarrassment can be avoided by simply holding your tongue for a minute and thinking before speaking. Granted you may look like a dufus - taking your time to answer people, but not making a fool of yourself in a group certainly overshadows this small inconvenience.

Thinking too much on the other hand can have an effect of you being considered a dull conversationalist. But once people get to know your style of speaking, your inputs and words should certainly carry some weight. Sadly, in this age of fast paced living, this art of thinking is slowly dying and its practitioners are being turned into pariahs.

On the flip side, impromptu and spontaneous reactions to situations can help you out of many a tight spot. But sometimes it certainly can land you in jail. Well, I am not saying that every time you act spontaneously you will regret it, but I do believe there is a greater chance that you will end up making a fool of yourself. This is what the materialistic and shallow society of today demands from individuals and us humans, always wanting to please and ‘fit-in’, blindly follow and shoot off our mouths with no thoughts about the consequences.

Sure would love to hear your views on this.