When "That Guy" Cuts You Off on the Road

You wake up. You're ready to face the day. You take a nice shower, brush your teeth. Feeling good.

You get into your car. Look in the mirror. You're thinking about all the wonderful things that will happen, how your meeting will go well, how your family might be doing. Turn on the radio. Stocks are actually up today, look at that!

You change the channel, you want to hear some music. Your favorite song comes on the radio - wow, things are going well!

You get on the highway. Humming that wonderful tune.

Then - BAM! The guy in front of you cuts you off. You start yelling and screaming as loud as you can. "Hey you jerk - you can't do that. What the heck is wrong with you!"

You still yell and scream and when it's all over, when the guy has whizzed back into the ether of the universe, you are left upset thinking, "man, why did this happen? Today is going to be a terrible day." And so it is.

Which leads us to the question of the day. What do you do when that guy cuts you off on the road? What is the point on working on ourselves when that guy in the road comes and takes it all away?

Perhaps the most important thing in these types of situations - and they happen all the time, be it some guy on the road, or some bump on the road of life - the most important thing in those situations is - Perspective.

Gain perspective. Notice that you are upset. Notice that things were going well, but then this situation happened to change that. When that guy cuts you off and you get upset and start decompressing, stop. Just stop. Watch yourself. The results might surprise you.

Because when you watch yourself, when you are truly present in a moment you start understanding what is really important. You might start to think, "I was feeling pretty nice before. Things are going well. Maybe that guy is just a little tired, or perhaps in a hurry for a big meeting. Or even if he is just a really nasty guy, I was happy before and I can't let this (insert evil name of choice) mess up or ruin my perfectly good day."

Sometimes in life all we need to do is watch ourselves. Because when you start watching yourself, when you take yourself off auto-pilot and start being present in your life, you can start to control your own destiny. You can say, "wow, that thought I just had is really not productive for me. Normally, I would just hear that thought in my mind and have it effect me without noticing it. But right now I do notice it, and I have the power to change it."

Notice yourself. Notice the good. Notice the bad. Notice it all.

Because once you start noticing yourself, you start to realize you have the power to change, to be the person who smiles more, laughs more, loves more.

Notice your life, gain perspective, and enjoy the ride. Just try not to cut anyone off in the process.