How many marriages have been destroyed when in a fit of anger people spew out hurtful accusations to one another that are never forgotten. You might as well punch a hole in a feather pillow and let feathers fly all over place and then try to collect them one by one! You can't get back damaging effects of those hurtful words either.

Want to free yourself from an entrapping verbal situation? Practice waiting a while before answering someone when you're angry. Then carefully choose what you are going to say. Your reply could well be remembered for rest of other person's life!

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1 NKJV).

3. Don't be a motormouth.

Listen more than you talk and think about what you're going to say before you say it. Don't just blurt out whatever is on your mind.

People who constantly chatter on and on about themselves and their opinions strain their relationships. If you enjoy monopolizing conversations, think about what other people may be experiencing when they're with you.

Also, more you talk, more likely you'll be to put your foot in your mouth. That's known as "foot-in-mouth disease!" So think before you let something out that you'll regret saying.

4. Nip hurtful speech in bud by carefully choosing your thoughts.

If you could put what you're thinking on a CD, what would you entitle it? Thought patterns will come out sooner or later in your conversations.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered as being one of United States of America's greatest presidents. But he experienced many failures along way. These failures were in areas of formal education (which was very limited), business, farming and in obtaining desired political offices.

If Abraham Lincoln had thought of himself as a loser when he failed so many times in life, he would have been unable to fulfill his destiny.

5. Pray for healing words to tap Source of wisdom.

Consider praying about what you are saying. Here's a to-the-point prayer:

"Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep door of my lips" ( Psalms 141:3).

Want to have a better life? Choose better words!

Start afresh today to create beautiful art-word exhibitions in other people's minds with loving and caring words.

------------------------------------------------------------ Patricia Wagner offers tips on living more energetically at http://www.a-to-z-wellness.com/subscribe.htm. She is also an artist and you can view her original paintings at http://www.artbywagner.com and her own eBay Art Gallery at http://stores.ebay.com/Patricia-Wagners-Gallery. ------------------------------------------------------------

(Ah, right. I could do a search, but maybe later.)

"I just like sound of hip-hop," Phelps says.

"I love Jay-Z and 50 Cent and I'm a huge Biggie (Smalls) fan. I listen to rap on way to practice and whatever I've been playing just loops through my head as I swim."

And his daily workout lasts two-and-a-half hours and covers ten miles.

Fortunately, I suspect that audio art forms besides hip-hop (or, perhaps, an actual form of music), played on internal audio system will also occupy conscious mind and unleash power of unconscious.

So, whenever you have to engage body for an extended period, play your own internal music.

Fortunately, success is issue and there’s no accounting for taste.