I was on an overnight transatlantic flight back to the UK,
Having pre-booked my seats purposely in a part of the plane where I knew there wouldn't be too much disruption.
When I checked in,
I noticed my seat numbers had been changed.
When I boarded the plane,
I was dismayed to have been seated right next to the lavatory.
I asked to be moved but the plane was full.
The constant flushing throughout the night meant I didn't get a wink's sleep,
So I was pretty disgruntled at the airline by the time I disembarked.
When I got home and after I'd caught up on sleep,
I sent a complaint off to the airline.
Instead of an angry email though,
I summarised my journey back in a humorous poem.
Within a day I got a funny poem back in reply and a week later,
To my surprise,
A bottle of champagne arrived by courier.
When we get angry about an injustice,
We can end up wasting loads of time as we enter a mindfall.
We want the world to be put to rights and justice to be served.
Our anger of course seeds anger in others and can even make them respond in an angry manner back to us.
Before we know it,
Things can escalate out of control and any thoughts of being creative or productive get thrown out of the window.
So breathe in and breathe down.
So the next time something upsets you and you feel you need recompense or an apology,
Here's how to avoid wasting more time than you need.
First,
Wait at least 24 hours before you take action.
When we sleep on things that upset us,
Often we get the answer in the morning of how best to respond.
You may even get an idea in a dream.
And sometimes the situation puts itself to rights without us having to do anything.
If you still feel you have to resolve the situation,
Check in with your intent first.
What outcome are you really wanting?
Think whether your immediate reaction will actually bring that outcome to pass,
Or whether there's a better way.
Remember,
Holding anger is like holding a hot coal you're about to throw.
You will get burned.
Think about how you could use humour to defuse the situation.
You might even end up with a viral YouTube video that makes you famous.
