A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.

Habits of speech do not wear down the way tools do; they sharpen. If irritation is how you have handled being tired or crossed, each year of practice makes the retort faster and more accurate, not milder. Waiting to soften with time is a poor plan, because nothing in time does that work for you.

Pick the person who receives your sharpest voice most often and watch yourself with them for a week. Notice the half-second before the cutting line arrives, which is where the choice actually lives. You do not have to become sweet; you only have to stop letting the quick version out first.