Irritability
Score these statements with:
Never = 0
Sometimes = 2
Usually = 4
When I am irritable I can recognize it and adjust my attitude. __
I don’t blame others for my circumstances. ___
I am not defensive when my partner throws a flag. ___
I try to discern underlying causes. ___
I apologize to those that bore it. ___
What was your total score?
Our Experience
This prompt was inspired by someone’s irritability. Mine. I was not irritated with Libby, but she felt blamed. Then I was irritated with her. But I am trying to replace my irritation with curiosity. (And dang it, these Good Conversations are producing great Jerk Guardrails in every conversation.)
Later when we did this prompt Libby shared some things that irritate her. (Warning: Don’t ever tell Libby what to do if she knows more than you about it. Be safe.
Just don’t ever tell her what to do. The odds of you ever seeing her irritated are infinitesimally low, but still.)
We found it difficult to distinguish between being irritated and being upset. There are things that should upset us, but if we are unable to express our upset in a constructive way, we probably will become irritated.
We also noticed that humor, especially being able to laugh at ourselves, shows that we are friends.
What about you? Can you laugh at how ridiculous you can be?
