"Can you believe he did that?! It's horrible!"
"Yes, I can."
"Wait... what?"
"Well, as I learned from Oprah who learned from Maya Angelou... 'When people show you who they are, believe them.' So yes, I can totally believe he did that."
That is not how my friend expected our conversation to go.
But I've realized my life became much happier when I stopped being so outraged about everything. (This was after I spent most of President George W. Bush's presidency arguing with the news and those who disagreed with me and commiserating with people who did agree with me.)
So now when a client doesn't show up for the call she requested, I skip the outrage. When the President announces another policy that conflicts with my core beliefs, I skip the outrage. When a driver cuts me off and then slows down, I skip the outrage.
Because who does being mad hurt? Not the person I'm mad at, usually. Just me. So why do that to myself? And from a time management standpoint, having the same argument over and over again, or gossiping about the same person repeatedly, is a huge waste of time.
This does not mean I don't ever get upset about things. Or that I don't address the offensive behavior. Or that I don't get involved around causes that mean something to me. I just don't see the value in raising my blood pressure about things I can't change.
Skip the outrage. Move to action. Or let it go.