Rage stems from an overestimation of our power to get what we want. And it personalises something that is impersonal. We rage at the weather and say, ‘How dare this happen to me!’ But it’s not happening to you. It’s just happening. What about when someone is rude to us? Surely that is a ‘personal’ insult? Not necessarily. Think back to Jesse’s colleague who was rude to him. Jesse thinks about the person’s character and decides that, actually, he’s just a rude person. He’s always rude. So to expect him to behave other than rudely is, frankly, over-optimistic. And the same goes, unfortunately,
...more
