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Reactivity vs Observational Lifestyles
Traffic is one of the top sources of outrage in my life.
When I first began riding a motorcycle, I was angry every day. I realized that I did not want to exist in an angry state but how was I going to deal with people who were constantly putting my life in danger without being angry?
The first step to removing that anger from my daily life was simply to observe what it felt like to be angry. It felt so silly to be riding off five minutes later and still let that person be controlling me, making my blood pump quickly and making my thoughts cloud with anger.
It felt ridiculous.
The second step was realizing that perhaps this person is having an absolutely terrible time in life right now. But when I express anger to them I provide the chance for them to easily slip into their own reactive state and to get angry at my anger at them.
And very rapidly I’m turning the world around me into a less lovely place.
Reactivity is not just a thing that takes place on the road and with anger. There are all manner of reactions, of emotions that we let get the better of ourselves.
This is something I work on all the time; something I highly encourage you to consider in your own life. How much are you reacting? And how much are you considering and observing and deciding how you want to behave?
