Fear. Mark Edick

a few moments, my friend came back and sat down. “You’re serious,” he said. “You really expect me to believe that you handled this situation just as you would with anyone else.”

      I assured him that I did, and I would continue to handle these situations in the same manner regardless of who was involved. We continued talking and resolved our differences. Our friendship was undamaged. I continued to handle those situations without prejudice until the day I left that position. Today my friend and I laugh about that conflict. We both learned from it. Moreover, when he said he hated being wrong, it reminded me and educated me about how mad I get when I am wrong.

      Looking back on that incident, I realized that every time I have been wrong, I have tended to get angrier than when I was right. The car accident was one situation where I did nothing wrong and I found it easy to dismiss any anger. However, when my mind quickly settles on a situation where I am wrong and I know I am wrong, my anger takes over—seemingly without my permission.

      My former girlfriend had set up a dinner date with a couple that she knew. She told me about the dinner date and I agreed to go. When the day came for the date, I had other plans. Forgetting about the date, I had agreed to go out with friends of my own—an obvious mistake on my part. Being wrong, and knowing I was wrong, I got angry. After all, I was going to lose a chance to go out with my friends, and I would look bad in the eyes of my friends who would think that my girlfriend ran the show. I felt I had to defend my position.