I grew up in New Jersey, and that's where I learned to drive. If you've ever been there, you know that people in their cars tend to have very little patience, drive as fast and as aggressively as possible, and do a lot of honking.
Since I work from home, I don't actually have to commute anywhere. But I've lived in Austin for four years now, and no matter what time of day it is, driving around here still shreds my nerves. It's not so much the traffic (which is worse than you might think) but the fact that drivers here move so slowly and are always so friendly. It makes for a lot of stop and go, and very long travel times.
The New Jersey driver in me always feels a little crazy when someone is stopping to let me go when they have the right of way, or when there's a green light and the person in front of me just doesn't seem to care about moving. But I'm trying to be more patient, and I've found one really easy trick that helps: Accelerating slowly. Somehow, doing this seems to remind my brain that I'm not really in a rush (and even if I was, it's still not worth getting upset over), and helps me feel a lot calmer behind the wheel. It's something I'm going to try to keep remembering to do.
Do you have any tricks to avoid getting agitated while driving? It can be surprisingly tough!
Image via dharmabumx on flickr.
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