I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the saying before you speak T.H.I.N.K. Which stands for, is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? If we ensure all five categories are met, we will never say anything amiss. It’s a grand idea, but believe me it takes loads of willpower to actually put T.H.I.N.K. into action.

This week I attended my youngest son’s last wrestling tournament for this season. For those that follow my blog you know I love to cheer my kids on, and I have a naturally booming voice.

The women sitting below me turned to me. The one said, “Do you have to do that?”

The other followed it with, “It’s really annoying.” Then they snickered and with each other like they were so superior I deserved their ridicule.

My gut reaction wanted to use my booming voice to point out that they were at a wrestling tournament surrounded by hundreds of people shouting and cheering their kids on, but the T.H.I.N.K. acronym popped into my head.

After a few seconds of consideration I realized there was nothing I could say that fit all five categories but, “I’m sorry.”

I stopped yelling. And the rest of the tournament might have been a miserable experience for me if it hadn’t been for the woman sitting above me. Her son came up to wrestle right after mine, and exploded with loud cheers of her own. The two women below spun around in displeasure. When they asked the woman above me to stop, she didn’t even pause to consider her words.

“No,” she gruffly said. “That’s my kid down there. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

Now I’m grateful I managed to hold a civil tongue in my head but I’m not gonna lie, watching those women leave in a huff made my day a whole lot better.