20 Ways to Beat Road Rage

1 . Acknowledge what you are feeling -- mad, enraged, nervous, frustrated.

2. Direct your attention back into your own body. Put your hand on your heart. Breathe in deeply and breathe out the negative effects those emotions are having on your body... high blood pressure, racing heart, flushed face, pulsing headache, shaky hands, blurred vision, an uncontrollable mouth.

3. Act to release the event. Remember when you may have done a similar thing. Acknowledge the consequences. Vow to drive safely and send a safety thought to the other drivers involved. Shrug off residual negativity.

4. Alternate from talk radio to your favorite music station or a tape, and sing along.

5. Keep your eyes on the road and do some isometric exercises. Tense your hands around the steering wheel, then release the tension. Go through your body one muscle at a time and tense it, then relax it.

6. LAUGH! It may start out as an angry growl, but force a smile onto your face and into your growl until it comes out as a hearty HARDY-HAR-HAR. Then breathe deely in satisfaction.

7. SING out your epithets instead of shouting. Pretend you are in an operetta, and let your words come out to music -- any tune in your head will do. "Why did you do that to me, you horrible driver, I am mad at you and wish you would be more careful." I promise if you sing it, you will laugh.

8. Connect to your environment. Become aware of what you are driving through and who you are driving next to. We often overestimate the false fortress that is our car.

9. Make a mental check list of all the things you have in common with the other drivers on the road.

10. Think of a playful thing you would like to do and make an appointment with yourself to do it. CONQUER CRISIS WITH HEALTH-ESTEEM lists 52 ways to play. Can you think of five you've done in the last month?

11. Keep an emotional check list in your car and jot down all the emotions you have gone through from one half hour before you got into your car through the time you've been driving.

12. Think of a worst case scenario that involves driving badly and remind yourself that you do not want to be a victim.

13. Think of something you loved to do as a child and imagine yourself doing that again.

14. Pledge to do three things this week that you've been putting off for a very long time.

15. Pat yourself on the back for three things you can be very proud of accomplishing in the last month.

16. Contemplate the balance in your life. There are at least 12 life areas, such as work, health, family... Can you name them all? In how many areas have you invested some of your energy?

17. Do an emotional family tree exercise. How would your mother, father, brother, sister... have reacted in this situation? Are your reactions your own, or learned?

18. Engage in a waking meditation. Breathe deeply three to five times, pick a color, such as green, and notice how many shades of green are around you as you drive.

19. Prioritize yourself emotionally. What do you care about? What's worth fighting for? Repeat these phrases, "I'm important -- and so is everybody else." "I am worth driving safely."

20. Examine your driving style and attitude. Do you need an adjustment? Are you setting a good example for your children or other passengers in your car?