He stopped his car right in front of me, backed into a driveway, and started turning around.
“What are you doing!” I screamed at the man.
I was on a mission. I needed gas and this guy was turning around right in front of me.
As he turned around he drove right by me without a courtesy wave.
How could he be so rude?
Then I realized he might be embarrassed. He made a mistake and I was making him feel worse about it. How could he look me in the eyes?
It reminded me of my conversation with my friend Rob. I shared the ideas in this book. I explained the importance of gratitude. He told me that when he gets treated rudely during his commute he chooses laughter.
It’s a old Yoga technique.
You just start laughing and let it build.
I started to laugh. I laughed at how angry I was over something that caused me to wait for an extra 10 seconds while he turned around. I laughed at my embarrassment. I laughed at a tough conversation with a coworker that I had last week. I laughed at my frustration with kids not picking up their toys. My laughter increased and I started laughing because I was enjoying myself.
It felt strange at first, but then I felt good. I actually felt great. It was the release I needed from the tension building up over the last few days.
I felt so lucky for my friend Rob.
Then I felt grateful for this blog post because it spurred the conversation with my friend Rob.
Next time you are having a tough moment in traffic just laugh it off. Give into the laughter, don’t push it away.
Watch how a fake laugh can turn into a real laugh.
If you need a little help with your mindset I would suggest working on your inner dialogue. When you work with that “inner bully” in your head, you help reduce stress and find ways to encourage yourself instead of beating yourself up over small mistakes.