While growing up, my parents would always advice us that no matter what happened, let always be slow to anger and don’t react immediately when someone annoys or disrespects us. We should always reason first before we react. Over time, I realized how true those words of theirs were. Anger is one emotion that can make even a calm person act out of character. It pushes people to make decisions they later regret, and most times, those decisions don’t end well. We live in a world filled with people of different backgrounds, attitudes, and tempers. No matter how good or patient we are, someone will eventually step on our toes. What matters most is how we respond either to stay calm or react harshly?
I work my shift at the toll gate, and in that place of work, we come in contact with different kinds of people every day both the rich, the poor, politicians, business people and travelers we may never see again. Some of them are not familiar with how things operate there and so it is normal for a first time user to ask for clarification about how much they need to pay before passing through.
I had a colleague who was very impatient when dealing with such people. Instead of explaining politely to them on how things are done, she often got into arguments with them. Unfortunately, that same attitude cost her the job.
Yesterday, a man drove up to the gate and was asked to pay the toll. My colleague was in charge yesterday. Rather than explaining the payment process calmly and politely, she raised her voice at the man. The man was surprised by her tone and asked her if she was normal and in her right state of mind. Out of anger, she responded harshly to the man and even insulted him. The shocking part came moments later when we discovered that the man she insulted was actually the general supervisor in charge of all toll gates across the north central region. He was there on inspection to observe how workers interacted with the public. As we tried to calm her down to stop shouting and raising her voice at the man, our boss came down from the office to greet the supervisor and to know what was going on and that was when the atmosphere change and it became clear to us that the man was the general supervisor. Sadly, that act of uncontrolled anger cost her the job. According to the man, she can't work in a public place where many people pass everyday and be rude to them.
Anger has never solved a problem, rather it often creates more problems than it attempts to fix. When a person allows anger to take control, reasoning becomes clouded, and words or actions that cannot be taken back are often released. One disadvantage of anger is that it makes people act without thinking. In just a few seconds of rage, a person can destroy relationships that took years to build or lose opportunities that may never come again, just as my colleague did. No matter how intelligent, skilled or hardworking a person is, if they are known to be easily provoked or harsh in response, people will hesitate to work with them or trust them with responsibilities. People judge us by how we control our emotions.
In my opinion, I think the easiest way to manage anger or people who push us to get angry is by walking away from that heat of tension or choosing silence in the heat of a moment. That can save us from regret. My parents were right, being slow to anger is one of the greatest lessons anyone can learn. The strength of a person is not shown in how loud they shout or how quickly they respond and react to issues, but in how calmly they hold ourselves when everything around is trying to make them lose control. So, be slow to anger and quick to reasoning.
Thank you for reading.
Ha! Hope she doesn't lose her job. Anger is a bad thing, the best thing is just to walk away like you said.
Well!!! she was told to go and rest and that they will get back to her. I just hope they did.
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