One thing some of the people I happen to know personally could learn from race car drivers is the ability to let go of a grudge. Just because somebody spun you out last Thursday doesn’t mean you can’t work with him to gain track position on Sunday. That’s more than just strategy. It’s philosophy.

Maybe some folks have a legitimate reason to go around with a perpetual chip on their shoulder. I don’t know about that, but I do believe that the person harmed most by that kind of attitude is the chip-carrier. Often the object of disaffection either doesn’t care or doesn’t know. If you admire an ice sculpture for too long, it turns into water. Relax. Enjoy.

It’s not easy to get over being thin-skinned, especially if you have an inferiority complex. (It’s even worse if you have good reason to have an inferiority complex. That’s a hard cycle to break.) But I’m a big believer in self-awareness. In fact, I’m even a bigger believer in it than I am a practitioner. But belief has to come first anyway. You have to know you’re being ridiculous before you can possibly turn it around.

Life is short enough, without making it miserable as well. Trying to take out your frustrations on somebody else only makes it seem shorter. Letting go is liberating. I know a few people with bulldog mentalities who could greatly improve the world by realizing that simple fact. Unclench! For your own sake if not for the general welfare.

Some people think you have to be a religious believer to be a good person, that without the promise of reward or the threat of punishment there’s no way to know what’s right from what’s wrong. I’m saying you don’t need a church to tell you how to live (not that it does any good, from what I’ve seen these last few years). It’s in everyone’s best self-interest to keep the wheels of society running smoothly. That means certain individuals might have to play extreme bumper cars a little less than comes naturally.