Let them kill Them...

I like this term - "When tempted by the bait".

Our first objective will be the development of self-re-
straint. This carries a top priority rating. When we speak
or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and
tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one
willful snap judgment can ruin our relation with another
person for a whole day, or maybe a whole year. Noth-
ing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must
avoid quick-tempered criticism and furious, power-driv-
en argument. The same goes for sulking or silent scorn.
These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and
vengefulness. Our first job is to sidestep the traps. When
we are tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves to
step back and think. For we can neither think nor act to
good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become
automatic.
Disagreeable or unexpected problems are not the only
ones that call for self-control. We must be quite as care-
ful when we begin to achieve some measure of importance
and material success. For no people have ever loved per-
sonal triumphs more than we have loved them; we drank
of success as of a wine which could never fail to make us
feel elated. When temporary good fortune came our way,
we indulged ourselves in fantasies of still greater victories
over people and circumstances. Thus blinded by prideful
self-confidence, we were apt to play the big shot. Of course,
people turned away from us, bored or hurt.