Irrationally Angry

At work the other day, one of my coworkers was getting all riled up about something that I didn't feel was all that big of a deal. I reminded him that if he just had a positive attitude, it wouldn't be so bad-- generally my life philosophy. We're as happy as we make up our minds to be. Admittedly, I made up my mind to be a grouch for a good chunk of my life, so maybe that's why I found the value in a positive attitude.

It also has something to do with the tennis team. I was so awful, but because I kept the moral up and was generally in a ridiculously good mood, I was just as valuable as the people that could actually play tennis. It's not a universal law, but generally people will tolerate your inadequacies a lot more if you're incredibly friendly while being inadequate. Sometimes at work, I'm slow to make milkshakes, or I put mustard on a hot dog that needs ketchup. These mistakes are much more forgivable if you're smiling.

So while I just couldn't understand why he was getting so fussy about this seemingly small issue, he pointed out that I'm the first one to lose my temper when someone gets in my space. And that's true. For some people, not an issue- for me, I lose it. Everyone has their own sensitivities to certain things. We think about this a lot more in regards to sadness- no one can judge how deeply another person suffers. But what about understanding people's anger? Isn't that just as legitimate, that there are things that might seem petty to one person and inexcusable to another?

So I made a list of the things that make me angry:

1. People that are rude to their servers. Or just rude in general, actually.
2. Being ignored
3. Cinnamon gumballs-- seriously, I could rage for hours about these abominations
4. People getting in my way/space.
4a. Old people that stand in front of the doorway of walmart
4b. People that drive 30 on Pone Lane when I'm trying to get to work
5. When people say "when you put 60 girls together, there's going to be drama," or anything similar. Using your gender as an excuse to be a shitty person, and suggesting that it is BECAUSE of your gender that you are a shitty person, really does not fly with me.

Listed this way, most of these seem pretty legitimate to me (except #3, maybe. But until you've gotten that nasty surprise you really can't judge.). But my coworker felt that his button-pushers were equally legitimate. So this week, I'm going to make a conscious effort to recognize when one of these situations starts to happen, and try not to let it rile me up.

I believe in positive attitudes.

...even when the coleslaw explodes all over the shop.