The Consequences of Anger

I had a blog post about humility all ready to go but I've decided instead to write about something that I witnessed today. 

While driving to the gym I was stopped at a light and I was second in line behind a car in the right lane. To that car's right was an SUV and he was in the far right lane that was ending shortly past the intersection. The SUV gunned it on green but the car in front of me was giving him no quarter. As the SUV sped up, so did the car. As the far lane ended, the SUV slammed on the brakes and swerved in behind the car. You could tell by the SUV's "body language" that the driver was very angry. As we progressed into the traffic circle, all in the outside lane, the SUV hit the gas hard, and passed the car illegally in the traffic circle and whipped out through the exit. As the SUV exited, he skidded a few times and eventually spun out of control, hitting the median hard and crossing into oncoming traffic. 

It was only luck that prevented a head on collision, as the oncoming vehicles has enough time to slow down and avoid the SUV. I could see that the SUV suffered a good amount of damage but he ended up driving away and I have no idea what happened after that. Thankfully, it didn't appear that the driver was injured. 

When I arrived at the gym, I sat and thought about what I had just seen. As I change my driving habits, I'm becoming more and more aware of when I see angry and aggressive drivers on the road. While I can't say I've done anything exactly like the driver of the SUV, I've done stupid things behind the wheel because of my anger. I'm lucky that I have never been involved in any kind of incident, but it's likely only because of good fortune that I can say that.  

The thought that stuck with me most was the realization that I've made real progress overcoming my anger. While I would have preferred if today's incident had never happened, it did feel good to be an observer instead of a participant. It reinforced why we train to remain calm in all situations. Anger is a natural emotion that everyone experiences but dealing with it in a healthy way is the key.