HALT, don't go there

On my run this morning I was thinking about a very recent event where I reacted with what was not the most diplomatic or planned of responses.

This, in turn, raised the general temperature level of the discussion, which then, as a consequence, took a long time to come back down to room temperature.

I remembered the acronym HALT that I heard recently.

HALT stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

HALT is a reminder to stop whatever it is that you're doing whenever you find yourself feeling hungry, angry, lonely or tired, and focus on taking care of yourself in whatever way is appropriate to take you out of that state.

So if you're hungry, concentrate on eating something; if you're angry do whatever you need to do (count to 10, go for a run or a walk, breathe deeply) to quell your anger; if you're lonely, telephone someone or go and see them; and if you're tired, get some rest, listen to some energising music, or even take some exercise.

Next time I'm feeling tired and am about to say something maybe I shouldn't, I'll try and remember to HALT myself.