November 14, 2025
If you’ve been following along, you know I love pairing the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day because the combination somehow ends up revealing more about life than either one would alone. Today’s entry ties together two powerful forces in the human experience: anger… and Christmas decorations. One makes us act stupid. The other makes us act too soon. And I think they might be connected.
Thought of the Day
There is no one stupider than an angry person.
Let’s be honest. This isn’t a polite thought. It’s not embroidered-on-a-pillow material. But it is true.
Think of the last time you were really angry. Not mildly annoyed because someone left wet laundry in the washer (again). Not irritated because the person in front of you at Target insisted on paying with a check they filled out in real time like it was 1998. I’m talking about the kind of anger that makes your chest tighten and your voice get a little too loud and your brain go into caveman mode.
In that moment, you are not wise.
You are not centered.
You are not the person you’d brag about being.
You are, in fact, temporarily stupid.
Anger is a kind of emotional tunnel vision. You stop seeing long-term consequences. You stop hearing nuance. You stop being able to say, “You know what, maybe this is a Tuesday problem and not a lifelong betrayal.” It’s like your frontal lobe packs a small suitcase, leaves a note on the counter, and goes on a weekend getaway until you calm down.
When I look back on my own worst decisions, anger was usually riding shotgun. Or worse, driving.
If the point of life is to get a little less dumb as we go along, then part of the work is keeping calm enough to stay smart. And it reminds me of the time I wrote about being a monkey with a plan, because life is too chaotic to be so serious. And in another post, I talked asked what do you have a low tolerance for?. Anger makes that gap even wider.
So maybe today’s thought is less about calling angry people stupid and more about reminding myself:
Calm isn’t just peaceful. Calm is intelligent.
Question of the Day
How soon is too soon to decorate for Christmas?
Let’s shift from anger to twinkle lights.
This question immediately divides the world into two groups:
1. People who believe Christmas decorations should start November 1
These people have no shame. Zero. They are in the attic pulling out bins before the Halloween candy has even begun its descent into the digestive system. They are ready. They’ve been ready. Their soul runs on peppermint-scented candles and Bing Crosby.
2. People who believe Christmas decorations must wait until after Thanksgiving
These people are the guardians of order. The protectors of tradition. The quiet defenders of seasonal progression. If you ask them about Christmas decorating too early, they’ll give you a look normally reserved for people who clap when a plane lands.
Then there’s a secret third group:
3. People who just do whatever makes the house feel less chaotic and more joyful
I’ll be honest. With three kids, a job, chaos swirling like a weather pattern, and coffee cups disappearing at alarming rates, sometimes Christmas decorations go up whenever we… find the time.
Last year, I think a wreath sat on a counter for a week because I couldn’t find the hanging hook. I remember writing about the way adulthood changes your expectation of joy versus frustration. There’s a lot of pressure to get the timing “right,” as if the decorations matter more than the people putting them up.
Here’s where the two parts of this post meet.
When the holiday season begins, tensions rise. Schedules fill. Kids melt down. Adults melt down. Everything becomes sticky. You burn a batch of cookies and suddenly you’re reenacting a Greek tragedy over a baking sheet.
But decorations, those glowing little reminders of joy, tend to soften the edges. Some people need that softening earlier than others. Some people want their December magic in mid-November. And honestly? If it helps you stay less angry and more grounded, then decorate whenever you want.
So how soon is too soon?
Too soon is whenever it stops bringing joy and starts adding pressure.
If the tree gives your life a little extra glow, turn the lights on. If the tree stresses you out, leave it in the box.
Simple.
Today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day both remind me that timing matters—whether it’s choosing when to speak in anger or choosing when to string up lights and announce to the world that the holiday season has begun. If anger makes us stupid, joy makes us smarter. Maybe that’s the real lesson.
Now I want to hear from you:
When do you decorate for Christmas, and do holiday lights help keep you calm—or push you over the edge? Drop a comment. And if you haven’t already, join the daily email so you never miss a Thought or Question again.
Leave a Reply