"My stupid mouth..."

Revisiting one of my favourite songs, and wondering how I've not written this blog before...

My stupid mouth has regularly got me in trouble:

Sometimes my mouth just goes into gear before my brain;
Sometimes I'm trying to be funny;
Sometimes it's a case of needing to process things out loud;
Sometimes it's because I'm getting defensive...

Sometimes I hear what I'm saying as it comes out and I'm already trying to backpedal and justify what I'm saying as I'm saying it. Other times I am completely clueless as to how much impact what I'm saying is having on the listener.

And sometimes (believe it or not) I have decided I'm not going to speak up again. Sometimes I have noticed that the best thing I could do is stop talking, rather than going down the "One more thing..." route.
Even when I know it's not my fault that they've been offended.
Even when I know that actually my mouth isn't the cause of the offence.
Sometimes it's right to stop talking.

But there are also the times when I've spoken before thinking and that has made the difference, times when I've said things that needed saying where if I had thought about them first I probably would have chickened out of saying them.

It's not just a case of stopping speaking entirely, but working out what the most useful moment is to speak out... Read the room!
It needs to be a filter that works well... I'm working on it...

Proverbs 17: 27-28:
A man of knowledge restrains his words,
and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.
Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent,
​and discerning when he holds his tongue.