If you’ve ever vented your anger at someone over email and later regretted sending it, next time, take a page from Abraham Lincoln’s book. As author Doris Kearns Goodwin described in an NPR interview,
“When he (Lincoln) was upset with somebody, he would write what he called a ‘hot letter,’ where he would write it all down. He would put it aside until his emotions cooled down and then write ‘never sent, never signed.'”
Anger often subsides. But writing makes it permanent. Give yourself a day or two to cool down. And if you’re still angry, you can still send the email. Warren Buffett once said, “You can always tell a guy to go to hell tomorrow. You don’t give up that opportunity.”