Do you have a temper ?

[TX-Dennis]

I once had a rather violent temper, and I can still get angry. But experience and a bit of help from Above has allowed me to laugh it off most of the time these days.

I find that I'm laughing at myself as often as I'm laughing at others. We all make mistakes, and I certainly make my share - maybe more than my share.

 

[dasnake]

For me.

Standing up for myself or my family is not losing my temper, I've stuck up for myself since grade 1 in 1953, I taught my kids that, and I still stand up for myself, nobody has any right dierespecting me or my wife, ( kids long gone) I also won't have my stuff abused, I've lived that way and won't change, I don't think that is showing a temper.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I used to. Was also bullied in school. But I learned to fight. Eventually the bullying stopped.

Age, a little wisdom, and carrying a gun everyday has calmed me somewhat.

And these days people would just as soon shoot you over a few cross words.

 

[Chukar60]

I used to have a terrible temper. Took a lot to get there but once it went it went badly.
In my 30’s i had a stressful job. Lots of pressure and high dollar deals. I would have quit but the money was really good. My boss saw my situation and taught me how to deal with worry and anger. Took some time, but I have not lost my temper in almost 30 years and replaced worry with constructive and productive thought and an ability to accept what I cannot change.

 

[Grayfox]

As a young man I had to learn to control my temper. Because if I ever really lost it, somebody was going to get hurt. Usually me.
I have a strange temper. Sometimes little things, especially stupid drivers, will piss me off badly. A quick outburst of cussin' and fussin' sorta lets it out and just a few seconds later I'm fine having gotten it out of my system.
Otherwise it takes a whole lot to make me truly angry. I can roll with the punches and laugh at myself. But never threaten a family member or close friend. Because that's when things are gonna get real ugly.

Now my late wife was pure blooded 100 % Italian. If that little gal got mad, Oh Dear God help us all!

 

[delcrossv]

Nope. Ask anyone, I'm Mr. Niceness™

Now if we're talking about cold blooded revenge, well......

 

[Fishslayer]

Do you keep yours reined in ?

My tantrums moderated greatly when I quit drinking. Imagine that.

Nowadays my temper is generally chanelled into sarcasm.

Now if we're talking about cold blooded revenge, well......

Forgive, but never, ever forget.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I am usually very mellow until I go into the kitchen and sit down at 6pm
and the wife has the news on the TV.

She hates it when I mock the news..........
but it is so east to do with the stories they put out now.

Last night the news shoed a retired Sherrif running around with a container of gas in each hand............

Hello !!

 

[greenwellg]

I was the smallest child in a school of 1850 people when I went to high school. In 8th grade a 2 grade flunkie decided I was his punching bag. I finally started THANKING him for hitting me, then his friends decided he was a jerk. At age 21, 6 feet tall and capable of lifting 6 times my body weight I saw that same flunkie at a gas station. He recognized me almost peed his pants but I did not beat him into a pulp for one reason. At 13 one of my good friends decided to sucker punch me from behind. A blind side handed chop landed squarely on his adam's apple and when I realized his gasping for air was real as he turned gray, I thought I had killed him.
That was 1963. I never got in a fight again and never struck another human being in anger. Not that I wouldn't or certainly not that I couldn't, I just needed to want to kill whoever it was bad enough to forget when happened at 13, 61 years ago.
I get mad all the time, way too much with my wife, but she knows how to push my buttons after 35 years, then she tells me it's my fault my family fell apart and it goes downhill from there. She has a hard time being alone. I relish solitude. That is my best weapon currently in use.
We recently had a day out together and when she tried to get me to chauffer her around so she could window shop while I waited in the car for hours, I declined. Now she gets to chauffeur her own behind around while I do the same.
I happy as I could possibly be just posting here versus waiting in my car for her to mosey around Target.
Beats mutually assured destruction.

EDIT: too much rain here for pickleball and I only play outdoors.

 

[Rustyt1953]

While being of above average size, playing sports as long as I could (including boxing) and averaging 225 lbs since HS. While tempted I have never had a fist fight.

My affability, wit and humor have diffused every physical encounter.

Learned that from me mum and here I stand with no cauliflower ears.

 

[erikpolcrack]

Not for almost sixty years. Back in the mid-60s, the Army selected me for officer training. When they looked at my HS grades and my SAT scores, I found myself on the way to West Point. The system there (then,at least) brooked no response from a New Cadet other than "Yes, sir; No, sir; No excuse, sir." When the upperclassmen jumped you about something, they observed your reaction quite closely. If you reacted in any way other than contrition and a request to make the correction, they piled on you like a bunch of hyenas. Any show of temper was tantamount to suicide. A year of that consciously and subconsciously showed me the wisdom of controlling and eventually "unlearning" my temper. That experience served me well for the rest of my career and the remainder of my life.

 

[lihpster]

Temper? When I was a kid, I could be homicidal. Luckily, I was also slow, so I never caught one of my intended victims. Around third grade I came to realize that if I didn't rein it in somehow, two things were going to happen. I was going to hurt someone, or worse, and I was going to ruin my life. I needed to find a space between happy-go-lucky and absolutely losing my mind. I managed it, but it's like a banked fire, ready to flare up, controlled by sheer will. And control it I do. I haven't struck anyone in anger since middle school. Even when such would be justified and altogether proper, I control me. I can't control getting angry, but I can control whether that anger effects my actions.
Now, back to that banked fire analogy. Obviously, the embers are still there, and they must be able to be seen. As the old saying goes, I don't look for trouble, but I don't do much getting out of the way of it either. If it's brought to me, you can bet I'm meeting it moving forward. And though it has happened several times over the years, not one person has looked into my eyes and heard me calmly say something along the lines of, "You sure you want to do this?" and has thought it was a good idea. Even occasionally 3 on one. At 5'8" tall, I'm not a big guy, but people have referred to me as a "scary dude". It's not something I've cultivated, but it has come in useful.

 

[sousana]

Agree with above. Don't look for trouble, but it's not in me to run. That said, you have to assess the situation as well.

Remember, " PASSION RULES REASON" your carrying a deadly weapon, you can't afford to lose control, if you do, you'll soon find that CO'S will yell you when to sleep and when to get up, permission to use the pissoire boss?

 

[AJ]

I struggled a bit with a temper when I was young and have worked hard to keep it in check.
Don't know where it came from, red hair , being bullied when I was real young, Quien Sabe?

Every once in a while it escapes like yesterday when a fellow parked next to me as I was waiting on the wife. He pulled in and did not even look, then slamed his car door open into the side of my truck.

I said a few bad words to him and although they made me feel good at the moment I regretted my actions a short time latter because I know that our Creator does not want us to let anger govern our actions.

I do better each passing year but need to shake that old reaction for good.

Do you keep yours reined in ?

I have struggled with temper most of my life. I work at controlling it all the time. Had some jobs where raising my voice and fussing at folks was expected to help get the job done. Now I try to keep the "genie in the bottle" so to speak. However, there are times when it escapes and to say the least I do not suffer fools well.

 

[moosedog]

In my younger days, yes. Dangerously so.
As I get older, it resides but is still there.