I’m lucky that I don’t have much of a commute; traffic in the DC area is horrible. I was reminded of this the other night when my wife came home stressed and upset after driving on the Beltway during rush hour (she doesn’t have to do that very often, fortunately).
Our lives are stressful, and that causes people to behave more aggressively than they would if they were calm and relaxed. The way people drive is a great example: after a hard day at the office, they just want to get home. So they drive 80 miles an hour down the off ramp, passing the person who is doing 60 (which is also reckless). Often this behavior causes accidents, which stress everyone out even more.
When you’re relaxed and calm, you don’t do these things. You’re more willing to take the few extra minutes to let someone merge into your lane, to smile at the grocery clerk and wish her a good day, to play with your child when you get home. These little acts of kindness add up, and if everyone did these things all the time, I believe the world would be a happier place.
I challenge you to try something simple for one week. We all know how horrible parking lots are. So, every time you feel your blood pressure rising, stop and let someone back there car out of the space, let the person with the cart of groceries amble down the parking lane in front of you, do whatever you can that forces you to stop and let someone else continue. The crazy thing is, if you do that with a smile on your face, the stress will evaporate and you’ll feel great. And you’ll be doing your part to make the world a happier place.
I tried that today…I let everyone cut in front of me in the Whole Foods parking lot and I just sat back and waited. It felt great! I actually found myself smiling rather than getting upset at all the people who pull out of their spaces without looking. I don’t know if this will last, but it was fun experiment. Thanks for the idea.
Susan
April 21st, 2008