Being an asshole is a choice.
There isn't much that we can control in life.
We can't control the weather.
We can't control whether our team wins whatever ball game we bet on this week.
We can't control how people drive (but why is it always crappy?)
We can't control what other people think of us or how they treat us.
We can't control whether or not people will recognize our talent or efforts.
We can't control whether our sibling eats the last ice cream sandwich that we meticulously hid in the back of the freezer behind the stack of frozen pizzas so we could treat ourselves on Friday after a long hard week of school and life bullshit. Nor can they control the hell storm of righteous anger they recklessly provoked in us through their brazen act of thoughtless gluttony.
We can't even control how we feel about things. Shit just lands how it lands. And then you have to deal.
Indeed, the only thing we can control somewhat reliably is how we respond to events and people and the other shitty and not-shitty miscellanea that life delivers in its Amazon box of fate.
That means we get to choose whether or not we're an asshole.
No one can make that choice for us. No one can really force us to be kind nor can they force us to be cruel.
So, when the barista messes up our order, and we flip on bitch mode, raise our voice, and ask for the manager, we've chosen that behavior.
When someone cuts us off on the freeway, and we aggressively tailgate them and give them the finger as we pass, we've chosen that behavior.
When we gossip or back stab, when we condescend or humiliate, when we discriminate against or judge others for who they are or what or who they like, when we lie or cheat or steal even if we believe our situation pushed us into that behavior, we have still chosen that behavior.
There are always, always, other choices we could've made. That we can make.
I won't say whether or not you should be an asshole. As I said, that's your choice. But, I will say this. Eventually, in some karmic way or another, an asshole reaps what an asshole sows.
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