Learning To Reflect Before Responding

In summary of the two verses below:

Proverbs 29:11

"Fools vent their anger openly, but a wise and sensible person will quietly hold it back.”

Proverbs 19:11

“If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.”

Bottom Line:

Foolish people lose their tempers, but wise people control theirs.  Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

What this means to me:

These verses remind me that when situations arise that raise my frustrations/temper it would be more sensible for me to control it and hold back rather than vent it openly.  In practice when I’m angry I shouldn’t respond impulsively, rather I should opt to delay (at least for 5 minutes) take a "time-out', and give myself some time to reflect and think it through, even to look at the situation from God’s point of view.  The Bible says a wise man lets his anger cool down. (Proverbs 29:11)  If I don't stop and think, I’m likely to do the wrong thing. So I need to reflect before responding.  While I’m cooling down, I can reflect on three questions; Why am I angry? What do I really want? How can I get it?  Understanding the answers to these three questions will give me greater patience and perhaps the ability to overlook an offense.