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The Founding Fathers offered advice on living a good life that still resonates today.

Jefferson emphasized the importance of delaying a response in angering situations.

The Jefferson hack gives us time to make a reasoned choice and wrest control from our reflexive brain.

Our Founding Fathers not only left us with a democratic republic but with helpful advice about living a good life, often expressed in the form of an aphorism, a short or pithy statement that expresses a general truth. You’re probably familiar with Ben Franklin’s aphorism “a penny saved is a penny earned,” which today would likely translate to a dollar saved, as pennies are no longer being minted. But this aphorism harnesses the power of pith to remind us about the importance of not squandering our earnings, whether in dollars or cents.

Franklin also left us with this sage advice about using time wisely: “Lost time is never found again.” There was also Franklin's familiar though frequently ignored admonition, “Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”

But it was Thomas Jefferson to whom we turned for advice about controlling anger. In my last blog, I referenced Jefferson’s aphorism, “When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.” In this, Jefferson recognized the need to control anger before it controls you, to pause and reflect in angering situations before you act. Here, let us expand upon the Jefferson hack.

We should first acknowledge that Jefferson was not the first notable figure to hit the pause button on anger. Seneca, statesman of ancient Rome and Stoic philosopher, noted that delay is the “greatest remedy for anger.” Delaying anger presupposes that we have control........

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