Tame the Rage

Radical #2: No Road Rage:  Okay, well not really road rage.  Today my radical driving changes included 1. Obey the speed limit and 2. Honor all blinkers.  While yes I have succumbed to road rage a handful of times, I don’t think this would characterize my typical driving habit.  Also, to be clear I am not some speed demon facing suspension of my license – I haven’t had a speeding ticket in almost 4 years and I’ve never been in an accident.  But what I am is an inconsiderate driver obsessed with finding the most efficient path to my destination.  The result is tense, semi-aggressive driving as I anticipate other drivers’ moves, look out for cops, and try to keep my speed just under my perceived threshold of “speeding ticket fast” where I justifying my speed as “going with the flow of traffic” or “it’s an open road in front of me, what harm is that?”. 

As I ask myself why I drive this way the answer I come up with is selfishness.  It’s more important to me that I get where I want to go quickly than let someone else in front of me in case they drive too slowly or leave too much room in between the next car.  But honestly, how much time am I really saving with these tactics?  What am I really accomplishing?

I’m happy to say that I had no trouble abiding by my radical today. (Which makes me wonder if it truly was a “radical” change pushing me outside of my comfort zone?)  It did not negatively impact my commute time and I arrived relatively relaxed and ready to go.  At the same time success was not too difficult today as I did not spend too much time driving– just to and from work, a total of 30 miles round trip on what turned out to be a relatively light traffic day.  So in the spirit of the radical revolution I’m looking for I’m going to implement this radical all week.

Quick update on day #2 of No TV: It’s shocking how programmed I have become to come home and turn on the TV.  As soon as I closed my front door it was the first thing that popped in my mind (of course immediately following that thought was remembering my new rule).  On the flip side, I was looking forward to writing my blog entry for today.

Preview of Radical #3:  Pay a genuine compliment to everyone I talk to without using the word “I”