06/13/14  I think everyone has a limited ability to function well. As we age, that threshold becomes lower. Imagine this ability is a 10” pie. The more pieces taken out, the less there is for you. What steals pieces of the pie? Anger is a big one. While some anger is unavoidable, a significant amount of what we experience every day is.

A simple exercise I give to my clients is for one day: 1) list all events that angers them and 2) think of a simple change would take away the annoyance. For example, instead of being angry at the telemarketer who calls, think of her as someone trying to get by in a terrible economy. Instead of being angry at the person who scoots in front of you at a stop sign, smile and give them permission to go. Try it and tell me what you think.