Road Rage Attitude

Patience and generosity will get you a lot further than meaningless confrontation. Granted, there are some situations where confrontation simply cannot be avoided or de-escalated... but shouldn’t we try to de-escalate and avoid conflict whenever we can? I would sure think so.

We win every fight we avoid 🤷🏼‍♀️ that’s not to say that situational awareness is the end all be all, because we can only be SO aware of our surroundings, but it’s certainly a useful tool.

Something I’ve stopped doing since I started carrying is engaging in any level of road rage. Growing up my dad drove the biggest Dodge truck on the road and his temporary impatience with other drivers would cause him to roll coal, use his horn unnecessarily, or even brake check people from time to time. Since that was modeled to me for so long I thought it was a normal way to drive 🤷🏼‍♀️😬 I never got too crazy with it, but I certainly had less manners and patience behind the wheel than I would in any direct interaction with another human being. After seeing that go poorly for multiple people over on Active Self Protection I realized that seemingly “normal” road rage was not just unwise, but... stupid. After realizing that I was putting myself at a higher risk for unnecessary conflict, I stopped with the impatience behind the wheel. The potential cost is just not worth it. Do I still get frustrated with other drivers? Yup. Do I make them aware of it? Nope.

Is there anything you have STOPPED doing since you started carrying?