A

February 26th

TO EACH HIS OWN

“Another has done me wrong? Let him see to it. He has his own

tendencies, and his own affairs. What I have now is what the

common nature has willed, and what I endeavor to accomplish

now is what my nature wills.”

—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.25

braham Lincoln occasionally got fuming mad with a subordinate, one
of his generals, even a friend. Rather than taking it out on that person
directly, he’d write a long letter, outlining his case why they were wrong
and what he wanted them to know. Then Lincoln would fold it up, put the
letter in the desk drawer, and never send it. Many of these letters survive
only by chance.
He knew, as the former emperor of Rome knew, that it’s easy to fight
back. It’s tempting to give them a piece of your mind. But you almost
always end up with regret. You almost always wish you hadn’t sent the
letter. Think of the last time you flew off the handle. What was the
outcome? Was there any benefit?