A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. Proverbs 29:11

 

A young woman called home in tears, to talk to her dad. She’d been journaling for hours and was too anxious to leave her apartment.

The wise father took a big breath and asked his daughter to do the same. “Let’s go through the questions,” he said to his daughter, talking her through, as he’d done before.

1. Am I tired?
2. Am I hungry?
3. Do I need to move my body?
4. Have I been ignoring God and His words for me in the Bible?
5. Do I need to make a wrong right with someone?
6. Do I need to be with others or be alone for a while?

 

Dad and daughter were able to identify the imbalances driving the current crisis. He encouraged her: “Get something good to eat, go for a run and meet up with your Bible study group!”

The Proverbs of scripture remind us, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (Proverbs 29:11). Researchers have discovered this wisdom. They’ve found that there’s “a relationship between our states of mind and our ability to tackle challenges” noting that “people who adopt an ‘action orientation’ are able to focus on a task without getting distracted by thoughts about their current emotional or physical state. Those who adopt a ‘state orientation’ on the other hand, are thinking more about themselves in the moment.”[1]

“State orientation”– that fool giving full vent to his spirit” that the Bible talks about, “‘keeps you from being successful in anything,'” says researcher Michael Linden, of Berlin’s Charité University Hospital. “No winning coach asks his players to dwell on their feelings at halftime.”[2]

[1] Shrier, Abigail. “Stop Constantly Asking Kids How They Feel.” www.Wsj.Com, Wall Street Journal, 9 Mar. 2024, www.wsj.com/health/wellness/stop-constantly-asking-your-kids-how-they-feel-d36cf32e.

[2] Ibid.