Give yourself a "time out"

Time outs weren't really a thing when I was a kid, though last week I realized that I did have one, we just didn't call it that at the time. In second grade, I was unkind and excluded another kid (sorry, Traci!) from a came of catch. When I refused to apologize, the teacher directed me to spend some, um, quiet time in the hallway outside the classroom door underneath the coat rack. (Given my size at the time, there was plenty of clearance between my head and coats; it wasn't like I was hidden or anything.) It didn't take me long to realize I really didn't like being there. Far better to just recognize my selfishness and error and apologize so I could rejoin the rest of the class. 

As we get older, it is assumed we should know when to take a breath and step back from a situation. But we often don't. We let our egos convince us that we know better than everyone else and let our emotions, inner child and (like me before the coat rack) pride get the best of us.  

Be honest -- when you were a kid, you KNEW when you were doing something wrong. You often even knew exactly when you crossed the line and were probably looking out of the corner of your eye, hoping an adult hadn't caught it.

Tune in to that sense of right and wrong as an adult. Whether you call it self-control or channeling the parents, teachers or coaches who gave you a time out in years gone by, take time to see what you're doing, take a step back and check yourself. You'll be better off. And you won't have to smell musty boots under the coat rack to get there.