Never be Quick to Anger...

That's a caution that is even written in the bible. But it can often be challenging to really exercise the strength to do so. For several years now I have been trying to make a practice of doing just so. Overall, with time and commitment to change within myself, I have been able to be more conscious of containing my anger. I often make every effort to make sure not to place myself in circumstances that I know have the potential to bring out the worst in me. When those times arise when I must be in a rather "testing" position, I still do whatever I can to minimize any problems. Some people may or may not agree with how I handle things, but I have to do what works best and suits me.
Being a firm believer that no one should have control over your actions, I still live in the real world. In some instances, certain things cannot be avoided. Today happened to be one of those days for me. I was prepared... to not entertain any foolishness. I positioned myself where conflict could be avoided. I handled myself in a mature manner. Being in an already unavoidable setting, I was determined to keep my focus on that particular situation and tune out all other distractions. In my own defense, I followed my plan to a "T". I had accomplished every thing that I sought out to do today. In that last 3 minutes before I was home free, the conflict began to quickly show its head.  Maintaining however, I managed to stand firm and made the effort to not allow myself to get sucked in. Three minutes left...
Minute one passed. Minute two passed. But when I arrived at minute three... I lost it. It felt good in that moment, but immediately after I was disappointed in myself that I had allowed someone to have control over my emotions and actions. This is a BIG NO-NO! After I had a short time to calm down and re-evaluate the situation, I was still relieved that I had gotten my thoughts off my chest (no matter how aggressively it may have come out). Sometimes even when we try to exercise control and be the bigger person or walk away, it ends up being to our advantage to show an individual that you mean business and will not allow anyone to trample over you. Today, this was my scenario.
What I have learned as I continue in my process of being a better me, is that sometimes, people will mistake your efforts to change as a weakness. In my experience today, it appears that this was the case. Not that this is something new or an excuse to lose control, but you have to take the opportunity when needed to make sure that there is an understanding established. Yes, I have changed. Yes, I want to be slow to anger. Yes, I want to avoid conflict. However, that doesn't mean that I will just stand back and take anything, from anyone, just because I'm continuing my process of change. I am still the same person, but I have changed my approach in how I handle things. So after careful consideration I learned for the day that one should:
Never be quick to anger, but never be slow to demand your respect!