Stress makes it easy to snap at people. Kindness under pressure is where leaders separate from bosses.

Pressure narrows people. Under it the fastest available move is pushing the stress outward onto whoever is nearest, and it works briefly, which is why it is so common. Staying decent while stretched is not a personality trait some people were issued. It is a choice made in about two seconds, over and over, and everybody around you is logging which way it went.

Learn the shape of your own pressure: the tight jaw, the short replies, the sudden urge to say something cutting. When you feel it this week, take one breath before you speak. One breath is not a trick, it is just enough room to pick.