Anger MANAGEment

Scenario: I'm driving down 75 South headed to work and talking on the phone. For this scenario, I have to make several disclaimers: (1) I am not one of those women that can't drive and (2) I was in traffic. Why are these two points necessary to make now? Well, some may have picture one of those women on their cell phone, driving at 10 miles per hour while traffic speeds around them. . . not the case. I was in morning traffic, which means no one was going anywhere.

Anyways, I have no idea who I was talking to but I do remember that it was a pretty good conversation which lead to my ultimate shock when I glanced to my right to see a man angrily motioning for my attention. Shock and confused, I asked the person to hold on and looked more closely. The man, still angry, was making a phone with his hand and "putting it down." With his mouth, he motioned you need to put the phone down.

At this point, I was still a little confused but I was getting angry, as well. First, Mr. Angry man, if you are really in a rush, why do you have time to get my attention to send signs to instruct me on driving while not watching the road? Second, if the car in front of me is 2 centimeters away and the car behind me is just a close, what can I do?

The man proceeds to speed "off" into traffic, meaning he went no where and I proceeded to grow in my anger. My response, I sped of behind him. He gets about 2 feet away and has to get into the other lane. I drive next to his car to give my gangster grill stare and he is really still angrily motioning. . . after cutting two people off. My thoughts, "Wow, this guy looks really stupid."

I proceed to drive, AND continue my conversation, and he jumps behind me then jumps back into his lane, as the roads split.

Life lessons learned?

#1. Road rage is stupid. When you are screaming in your car like an Orangutan, cussing people out, usually they can't hear you and even if they can, you usually end up doing something just as bad to someone else. Please, save yourself and relax.

#2. Talk on speaker phone. I realize that I'm not going to stop talking on the phone and driving because. . . I mean. Driving is boring sometimes BUT I think i try to use speaker phone so angry men don't have a reason to be sexist, tell me how to drive, and then drive like an idiot. I think this act is for the people.

#3. Is it really worth it? When we get angry about things, is it always worth the reaction. One of the biggest things that this experience showed me is that some times the things we stress about are never really that bad. Some things require energy but negative energy doesn't equate to anything positive. . . hence the negative part.