Hi Folks,
I was on the road today in the Motivation Matrix Mobile enjoying the sun and shine of the day when I crossed paths with a “Road Apple”. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the term, a road apple is what drops out the south end of a north bound horse.
I was in the left lane several car lengths back, as I had been for miles, from the car in front of me. I noticed he seemed to be having some kind of seizure as his right arm kept flipping up in the air and his hand was waving around. Just in case he was having a problem with his arm I started watching him closely since the highway was pretty busy.
As we took the clover leaf to merge onto I-94 the guy in front of me with the wiggly arm problem slams on his brakes and really starts waving his arm and makes sure that I see his 1 finger salute.
My first reaction was to make sure I was not going to get rear ended by the people behind me stacked up on the clover leaf. Once I made sure that everything was ok behind me I looked at the Road Apple in front of me and started laughing.
What kind of an idiot risks innocent lives just because he is having an issue driving to work on a Monday. Needless to say when he saw me laughing at his stupidity he got even angrier.
As we merged onto the highway I merged all the way to the left and kept on about my business. The Road Apple had been so busy being angry with me that he got cut off by two other cars merging onto the highway!
Now, my Road Apple friend guns his car around the slower cars in front of him and shoots over into the left lane in front of me and narrowly misses a car in the center lane. He starts waiving his one finger salute with great emphasis and slams on his brakes again! This guy is so busy being angry at the world he has no clue at the damage he could cause in a pile up on this busy highway.
He was so busy raging at me that he almost rear ended the car in front of him. I changed lanes, went around him and took the exit to my destination.
Now, let’s talk about this. I never tailgated him or used any sign language on him. As I was behind him the entire time I obviously never could have cut him off.
So, was he insane or just pissed at something else and trying to take it out on me? Personally I don’t care one iota about the Road Apples problems that caused him to act this way on a packed highway surrounded by people that were just going about their business.
That may surprise many of you that know me since I am usually a very compassionate and helpful person.
This is a case where I close the door on that. If you or anyone you know has such an anger issue that it is not controllable on a busy highway; where one move made in anger could cost people their lives, Then you need to get professional help IMMEDIATELY.
Think about it. Do you like being in a car with your kids and getting the one finger salute? I doubt it.
What ever happened to plain old common courtesy? If the person in front of you cuts in front or comes too close behind you does that mean the default setting should be anger and a finger? No it shouldn’t.
If you find your self acting and reacting with anger doing something as simple as driving down the highway then it’s time to take a closer look at your life.
Take some nice deep breathes and inhale sunshine while exhaling clouds. Simple but effective.
If you really are stressed out and just want to deal with it in a constructive way then come see me for sessions on how to de-stress. I am really good at it and you will be too once we are done.
By slinging anger around on the way to work you are just spreading the problem instead of helping it.
Try smiling at the person in the car next to you. Wave a thank you to the person that let’s you out on a busy street. If you accidently cut someone off, apologize. If someone accidently cuts you off give them the courtesy of mistakes happen. We’ve all made them.
If you do encounter a serious case of road rage whether directed towards you or someone else call 911. Take control of the situation before it escalates. Empower yourself to do the right thing!
A little story before I go today:
This happened to an acquaintance of mine when he was in the car with his 5 year old daughter on the way home from kindergarden. He got cut off pulling out of the school lot by a guy that honked at him and gave him the one finger salute. Of course he returned the salute with great vigor. When his daughter asked him what he was doing he said that he was just wishing the man a nice day.
Realising that he wasn’t being honest he told her that there is a better way of doing it. The next time something like that happens we will blow kisses at them.
It wasn’t long before the next angry person honked at them and they blew kisses at them. When he asked his daughter how that was, she said, “It was great and he even wished us a nice day!”
Peace and Power
The Motivated Man
Dane Kirby
Contact me at: dane@motivationmatrix.com
