Sometimes doing nothing for an hour prevents doing something stupid for a year.

A great many costly decisions are made in the twenty minutes after something goes wrong, when the urge to act is strongest and judgment is weakest. Sitting still for an hour feels like doing nothing, and it is often the single most valuable thing available, because it lets the reaction pass before it becomes a choice with consequences.

When the impulse to act is sharpest, put a gap in front of it. An hour, a night, a walk. Very few good decisions are lost to a short delay, and many bad ones are prevented by it.