1/25/2005

No more road rage

My father has an absolutely foul temper, and this is one of the traits he has bequeathed to me. I am aware of my tendency to fly off the handle and get excessively angry over little things, so I work very hard to control my temper, with a fair amount of success. My kids don't tiptoe around me, I don't punch holes in the wall or break windows - when I start to feel enraged around my family, I tend to just put myself in time-out - I take the dog for a walk or wash dishes or just breathe deeply until I feel less angry, which puts me in a better position to put whatever triggered my anger into perspective.

One of the things that was killing me was driving behind cars with Bush/Cheney stickers on them. I could feel the rage move through my whole body, and I would usually drive a little faster. I dealt with this by reframing the issue in my head - a car with a Bush/Cheney sticker was doing me a favor, because the sticker was identifying the driver of the car as either completely misguided and misinformed or a complete idiot*. That really helped me feel less angry.

I have also adopted a new habit, which is giving thumbs up to people with anti-Bush stickers. Yesterday I gave the thumbs up to a gentleman whose pick-up truck sported a sticker that said: Proud to be a Veteran - Ashamed of G.W. Bush. He gave me the thumbs up in return.

*It's my opinion, and I'm sticking with it.

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