Have you ever been in the wrong place and the wrong time to have someone come out of left field and be rude to you?  This happened to my partner and me recently when a woman started shouting at us at a red light. It was clear she was enraged, but not at us. We were already stopped at the light when she drove up. When we happened to look over she just went ballistic. My partner and I both took a deep breath and ignored her. As soon as the light changed she floored her car and sped away still angry.

The key thing to remember is, when someone is so enraged they are willing to take it out on an innocent stranger, they are not thinking. They are on auto-pilot of a deeply wounded ego. They are mad at something or someone. People who lash out are basically out of control so there is no talking to them to point out how they are behaving. They may be aware of their behavior but are blinded by their ego so they are looking for someone, anyone to pick a fight with, and to dump aggression and anger upon.

Don’t take it personally. When people do something so irrational like what happened to me and my partner, they are directing their frustration, disappointment, and anger outward. Chances are they are really mad at themselves and vomit their disappointment onto others rather than look within to deal with the source of their pain.

Love yourself by being the emotionally responsible one and refuse to engage. No, it is not necessarily easy but it is definitely worth you taking the high road to not get involved with someone who is not in control of themselves.