Almost one daily basis we run into situations where people do things that in one way or another impact us. A car cutting you off on the road, a kid making a scene in the supermarket, a big bloke bumping into you on the street, or someone jumping the queue at the bakery store. It’s easy to get angry or annoyed in any of these situations. The person that you feel wronged you will most likely not even realize that you are angry though, let alone that they’d care. But it will certainly ruin your own mood.

I always try to think about why someone would act the way they do. Maybe they had a bad day at work, or they feel unwell, or they are distracted by worries over someone close to them. If you can think about a person in that way, it’s a lot easier to stay calm and not get upset.

Of course, it doesn’t always work. When I’m tired myself, or I had a difficult day, I sometimes snap over something that in hindsight is unimportant. Or in some cases people act in ways that can’t be explained by anything other than that they are rude and egocentric.

I try to live by the rule that you should treat others the way you want to be treated. Even if they don’t treat you that way (yet). Simply because it makes you a nicer person. And I believe that in the end, you get what you give.