Last week while driving to work, I witnessed what could be considered a road rage incident.
This is what happened:
A mid-size silver sedan began merging left to change lanes, but failed to notice the brown Lincoln Town Car that was in their blind spot. As the silver car began to merge, the brown Lincoln’s driver noticed the car coming into his lane. Instinctively, the brown Lincoln, violently swerved onto the shoulder to avoid what might have been an accident. The quick movements of the Lincoln, alarmed the silver car’s driver, who quickly moved back to the previous lane.
Whew! Accident averted! Everything is ok now right?
Not hardly…
The driver of the brown Lincoln Town Car began driving erratically! First, he jumped behind the silver car and began riding the car’s bumper, while blowing the horn and flashing his headlights. Then, he suddenly changed lanes, almost side-swiping another car who was unaware of the sixty mile per hour spectacle taking place. After forcing his way past a third car, the driver of the brown Lincoln, pulled along side the silver car and began swerving back and forth, as if he was trying to run the poor silver sedan off the road. After about thirty seconds of this irrational behavior and continuous taunting the brown Lincoln sped up, abruptly jumped in front of the silver car and slammed on the brakes! Thankfully, the silver car’s driver was aware this might happen and was able to brake quick enough to avoid smashing into the back of the brown Lincoln Town car.
At this point, the driver of the silver car decided to pull over to the shoulder of the expressway to completely disengage the driver of the brown Lincoln, who to no surprise, was already speeding away!
Crazy, huh?
I would guess you’re thinking right now, “Really? The silver car didn’t mean to come over on you brown Lincoln! Why did you act such a fool?”
…or something close to that, right?
In this case and others, it’s pretty easy to see when a person is overreacting to a mistake. The silver sedan didn’t want to get into an accident.
The lane change was a bit negligent, but ultimately a simple mistake that many of us make.
My question for reflection this week is:
Do you ever overreact to mistakes or mishaps, much like the brown Lincoln Town Car?
Now, it may not be a case of ‘road rage’, but there are an infinite number of parallels to this story.
So, when was the last time you overreacted?
Was it at a restaurant when a waiter made a mistake with your order?
Was it at the mall when you were erroneously overcharged?
Was it at home with your significant other, your child or a sibling?
Wherever and whenever it was, we all have had moments when we embraced the self-righteous, judgement and fury of that brown Lincoln Town Car and blatantly bullied and/or scolded some poor soul that was already expressing penance and timidly cowering from their recent mistake.
And…
Instead of offering grace and being thankful that everything turned out fine…
Instead of expressing gratitude that all accidents have been avoided…
We leapt on our offender like a lion does a straggling calf. We justified our actions, as the temporary victim, while verbally tearing the offender, our new victim, to shreds!
We feel, so much fury, so much anger and so much emotion…
That we unleash it till exhausted, yet in the end, there is no winner.
Instead, both parties involved undergo emotional carnage.
Whether it’s the initial offender who now feels humiliated, embarrassed and maybe afraid; or the bully that is irritated, angry and in some cases eventually plagued with guilt…
Nobody wins.
In fact, the person who is angry carries the greatest loss.
I tend to agree with Mark Twain when he wrote, “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
A wise person tempers their anger, while a fool allows anger to flow unleashed.
“Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before – it takes something from him.” ~ Loius L’Amour
The next time you feel yourself getting upset with a situation or annoyed with a mistake, think about that brown Lincoln Town car.
Will you play the fool or will you step into your greatness and be wise?
The choice is yours; what will it be?
Stay inspired, it’s a lifestyle choice!
About the Author:
Linal Harris Global Entrepreneur – Certified Life Coach – Media Personality – Speaker
Linal Harris is a global entrepreneur, certified life coach, author, and media personality. As the founder of Inspirational Perspective® Publishing, LLC and Insights 4 Life™ Coaching, LLC, Harris challenges his global audience and coaching clients to Murder Mediocrity® and live their best life possible. Harris concentrates his work as an ontological coach with clients on what he calls the 4 pillars of life; the relationship we have to ourselves, the relationships we have with others, our relationship to work and money, and the connection we have to our spirit and life’s purpose. Harris coaches CEO’s, executives, entrepreneurs, athletes and celebrities. Harris is the author of “Slay Your Goals”, where he provides his readers with scientific and research backed tips for achieving their goals. Harris is an expert goal-setter and has been called upon by Fortune 500 companies to assist with setting their strategic priorities, facilitate goal-setting sessions and provide inspirational talks.
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From my driving experience, those who spend their time changing lanes to get ahead usually get caught by the Police/heavier traffic and gain nothing expect further feeding their rage.