Anger

I have noticed myself flying off the handle over small and insignificant issues lately. Unfortunately it seems more often than not instead of letting a problem roll of my shoulders, I fuss and smolder over it. My reactions are often childish and I don't like how I have handled many issues in the past so I must find steps to help me change them in the future.

Here's an example, recently I moved 16 hours away from home to what I would call a big city. This is the first time I have ever lived outside of my midsized Midwest hometown. My boyfriend and I were out exploring our new surrounding. We parked the car and went to have dinner. After a fantastic meal and a wonderful evening, we returned to the car and BAM there it was shoved under my wiper-blade.

I was furious and immediately snapped off " you were the one driving, why didn't you pay attention to the fact that this was a pay lot!?!" It was wrong to go off like that, I know. But it just happened. There are many subconscious thoughts and emotions that anger can stem from. The one that most often fuels my fire is my worry that I will be blamed. Because I'm questioning so many aspects of my life these days I already feel super insecure and so for me it's easier to divert the fault onto something or someone else so that the finger cant be pointed at me. So today I'm examining ways to deal with future situations that tick me off:

1. As cliche as it sounds, take the time to count to three before I say anything. This will give me time to evaluate and think of a response rather than just spewing my initial reaction. 
2. Stop trying to control everything (this is a big one for me). Don't let things you cant change linger in your thoughts. I got the parking ticket and there is nothing I can do about it now. So quit your bitchin!
3. Remember that in the scheme of things whatever is going on probably isn't that big of a deal. My life isn't over and I'm not going bankrupt because of one silly ticket. 
4. Here's the kicker, use the event to learn and grow. I know now, as well I should of before, that I live in a big city, nothing is free, not even parking.. In the future I will try to be more observant and then maybe I'll notice the sign that says $5 PARKING. 

So my advise to myself is to take a chill pill and try, really try, to take these steps and implement them into life. It will make thing much better.