A Road Rage Revelation
Today as I was driving into my office, there was a car driving quite slowly in the left lane. I got a little closer (I wasn’t tailgating), and they brake-checked me. I flashed my brights; they brake-checked me again!
I couldn’t go around them because there was an 18-wheeler on the right. Finally, we passed the truck, and just as I was about to go around this guy, he (I assume) purposely got into the lane I wanted to go in.
I felt this rush of anger.
This time, I made a conscious choice not to interfere, not to judge the emotion, just to feel it in all its intensity and hopefully feel it dissipate.
Wow.
I must be used to controlling my anger because this was different.
It was like a drug that gave me superpowers. I was strong, I was invincible. I was a beast! If I had been in a physical confrontation, I would have demolished my opponent.
I think I tapped into some sort of caveman part of me. Honestly, it felt good. It still does.
I feel like men, especially, are required to stifle our anger so that we can function in society.
I get it.
What would society be like if every conflict was resolved with violence?
Wait… maybe that wouldn’t be terrible.
Well, the reason I’m writing this is I have been telling my clients to allow themselves to "feel." I would say 75-80% of the issues that I deal with in practice stem from not being able to release emotions.
Emotions aren’t good or bad. They just are. The repressing of them is what causes problems.
So next time you feel a strong emotion, instead of suppressing it, allow yourself to feel and observe it. Feel ALL of it.
It will start to dissipate.
Try this whenever you can.
Love,
-Dan
let me know if you tried it in the comments, there is a chat feature: we can discuss