John Y.’s Musings from the Middle: Traffic Jams

I friggin’ love traffic jams.

L-O-V-E love ’em.

It wasn’t always this way, however. I use positive affirmations about being stuck in traffic to change my perception.

If you still get irritated with traffic jams, do like I did and think of the top 10 positive things you enjoy about being stalled in traffic.

Here’s my list that I keep handy so I’m not a grumpy guy just because a little traffic sets me back an hour or two:

1.  Patience. Traffic jams are a golden opportunity to practice patience.
2. Fitness. I get to accelerate my heart rate by by 30% while sitting still and do so for a sustained period of up to an hour.
3. Feeling Superior. I get to see people in other cars who have lower frustration tolerance thresholds than I do. (And sometimes wave to them. While smiling serenely.)
4. Fun and Games. I make a game to see if I can get across the bridge before the song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida ends. 
5. Imagination. I wonder what life may be like as a Tibetan Monk since they don’t have to deal with traffic. (It’s not bad. In my imagination during traffic jams.)
6. Historical. I remind myself that in the old days the original Model T only went about 10 mph. But with our modern advances, I’m going almost 50% faster.
7. Life lessons. It reminds me that we humans, if forced to, could actually walk some places.
8. Masculinity. I get in touch with a part of my primitive self that reassures me with the right level of frustration, I can still go ballistic and successfully defend myself and my family against anyone who threatens us. (If that person is under 5 ‘4.)
9. Home. Become almost tearfully grateful that in just 2 more hours (and 3 more miles) I’ll be leaving Indiana and home again in my beloved Kentucky.
10. Escapism. I’m reminded that maybe the virtual world of the Internet really is preferable to the real world and promise to write down my thoughts on FB when I get home.