“If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all," is something my mother constantly told me when I would start speaking badly about another person.

However, nowadays it isn't that I am speaking poorly of another person. It is that other people are being rude to me.

Is what they're saying supposed to be mean? Not always.

How can someone come across as a total a-hole, but not have any intention to come across as one?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, there's this thing that we do with our voices that allows us to inflect the words we say. This is tone. Tone through text is the absolute worst (don't get me started), but even in person tone can be misunderstood, misconstrued, and often taken offensively by the person receiving the comment(s). It isn't always what you say, it is how you say it.

Yes, it's possible that you're simply joking around, but you have to make sure that the person you're joking around with understands that. Sometimes the tone lacks so much that the person receiving your “joke" becomes offended.

Pro tip: A picture says a thousand words? Well, a person's face can do the same thing. Observe and gauge facial cues when your tone comes across a little b%#@$*.

But sometimes, it isn't even the tone that gets to someone. It's, believe it or not, what you actually say.

Think before you speak. Before you "teasingly" call someone a name, think of the effects on the subject of your joke. Not everyone will understand that you're trying to be funny or sarcastic. If their face falls slightly you should clarify what it is that you meant. It's as easy as that.

What you say can have negative effects on the person you're saying it to. It can create some serious inner-turmoil, simply because you weren't careful in your word choice or in how you said something.

The feelings stirred up within an individual can stay in his/her mind for years. I'm sure there is a conversation you've had with someone that you can remember vividly. It replays over and over in your head. Why do our minds do this? It's because we allow other people's hurtful words and negativity consume us.

We've all been in situations like this before, haven't we?

Your friend cuts you off in the middle of your story to make you the butt of the joke. Maybe you called the guy at the cash register “retarded" because he couldn't ring something up for you, yet, the person you're with has a brother who is autistic. Perhaps you called one of your sisters a "grandma" for staying in on a Friday night, when she's secretly dealing with a death in her family.

All of these examples have something in common. A person who doesn't have any consideration for those around them (aka the people or persons with whom they are talking to). A person with no filter. A person who says something on a whim with no regard to how it will effect others.

Sure you can play the “I don't care what people think about me" card, but the truth of the matter is that along with your rude statement, you have also revealed a ton about your character.

You don't know what other people are going through in their lives. You don't know how your words will effect someone else. You may have just ruined your close friend's day because you decided to be a, “comedian."

Everyone is on their own, personal journey. Next time you think about stepping in someone's way with your attempts at humor, think about the consequences. Not everyone understands your comedy, and not everyone wants to hear your opinion. Words can kick up dust on everyone's path, and if you're not careful, they can even block someone from feeling confident enough to continue on their own.