You know the feeling when you’re driving down the road, and someone begins to pass. You know they are about to cut you off, anger builds, why is their time more important than yours? Your heart starts to race, and your brain spins as you prepare yourself for the game of chess that is about to happen.
Far too often, we decide that we are going to choose anger over calm. It is easy, almost instinctual, for some of us to decide we are not going to allow this person to get in front of us. “I was here first. There is no way this guy is going to cut me off!!!”. Our blood pressure jumps, and we begin to play a game.
But who wins when we decide to choose anger over peace? Cars continue to jockey back and forth; people slam on the brakes, and the whole pack of cars slows down. Inevitably, we all slow down and become increasingly more frustrated with each other. Eventually, the group breaks up, and the emotions subside. But why did we put ourselves through this?
Right VS. Happy
In life we are often presented with two choices. Do we want to be right, or do we want to be happy? On one hand we can choose to fight for what we believe is a just outcome. “I’m not giving up my place in line, who does this person think they are!”. We believe that this person has put their needs in front of our own, and perhaps they have. The desire to enact justice overwhelms our desire to be happy. Many times, in these situations, we can make the decision to just be happy. On the other hand, we can choose to drop back and let the other driver in. Will it really cost any time? Do I really prove anything by boxing them out? Is it worth stress? Is it worth the danger? Probably not.
It is ok to choose to be happy. Often times, we have the opportunity to choose peace over anger. By slowing down for a moment, taking a deep breath, and deciding to let ourselves be peaceful we can reduce our total number of angry moments and feel less stress throughout our day. We can choose to feel good.
Next time you are setting yourself up to be angry, remember you have a choice.
