For your own heart well knows even many times that you, even you, have called down evil upon others.”​—Eccl. 7:21, 22.

Accordingly, when it comes to people’s words, it is good to think about one’s own speaking. As Solomon noted, the person himself may often have said bad things about others, without malicious intent. Why, then, get all upset about what others say by taking their words too seriously? Why even be unduly curious about what is being said? Whether favorable or unfavorable, what others say can unbalance a person if he treats it too seriously.