Guy at the dog park made me rethink how I handle rude people

I was at Lincoln Park in Chicago last Tuesday and some dude let his off leash dog charge at mine. I was about to snap at him but he just said 'sorry man, he's still learning' in a super calm way. Made me wonder if I'm too quick to get mad at strangers when maybe they're just trying their best too. What do you do when someone accidentally ticks you off in public?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith_king1mo ago

oh man, that's such a good reminder. i feel like i'm always ready to snap first and ask questions later, but like... we all have off days, you know? your story actually made me think about the last time someone cut me off in traffic and i just let it go, and it felt way better than yelling at them.

anthony1291mo ago

Here's what works for me with road rage stuff. I started counting to 10 before reacting, but that felt too rigid so now I just take one deep breath before I say or do anything. The grocery store thing reminds me of a time I was in line at Target and this guy was taking forever with coupons. I was annoyed until he mentioned his kid was in the hospital. Now I just assume everybody is having a worse day than me until proven otherwise. Saves a lot of unnecessary anger.

elizabeths511mo ago

Did you ever notice how one calm person can totally change a shty situation? My friend Sarah witnessed something similar at a crowded grocery store last month. Some lady was blocking the whole aisle with her cart and talking on her phone. Sarah's friend was about to say something rude but then the lady looked up and just went 'oh gosh, I'm so sorry, my mom just got diagnosed with cancer and I'm all over the place.' My friend said it killed any anger instantly. Now she always tries to assume people are dealing with something heavy. That's not always easy but it saves a lot of mental energy.