Even the most level-headed of us have moments where our emotions get the better of us. Talk to practically anyone you know, and there’s a good chance that they’ve experienced some serious road rage in the past. The seclusion and anonymity of being in our cars can make it easier to explode at other drivers. If you want to be able to manage your feelings of road rage, we’ll show you how to keep calm while you’re on the road.

Prepare Yourself Beforehand

Road rage often happens when we’re in situations we can’t control. Maybe you’re stuck in traffic on the way to work, or you must slowly let people get over to drive around an accident. When you know that you’re entering a situation where road rage is common, give yourself some time to prepare. Tell yourself that you will likely have to deal with other drivers who aren’t driving safely or smartly. If you expect road rage, it can be easier to catch and stop it before it gets out of hand.

Keep Your Environment Comfortable

A useful way to keep calm when you’re on the road is to make your car’s environment as comfortable as possible. While this certainly means setting your heat or air conditioning to where you like it most, it’s also about fixing other issues that could aggravate you over time.

If your uncomfortable seat puts you on edge, find a better cushion to sit on that makes it less frustrating. You could even make a playlist of your most calming music to put on when you’re in a situation where you think road rage might pop back up.

Invert Your First Thought

When someone cuts us off or is tailgating us, our minds tend to go toward the worst-case scenario right away. We immediately start to believe that this person is just rude and doesn’t care about anyone except themselves. But you can’t know that other person just by their poor driving habits, so you can reduce your road rage by inverting the first thought that comes into your head.

If you first think that someone who cut you off is just a rude person, flip it around and consider that they might be having an emergency and aren’t thinking clearly about their driving. It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but it may help keep you calm.

Pull Off and Regroup

A clear sign of a safe driver is knowing one’s limitations. Driving while upset or angry can impair your ability to focus. When the road rage starts to take over, try to pull off of the main road and give yourself a second to regroup and calm your mind. It may take a little extra time, but the tradeoff is that your road rage won’t put you in a dangerous position by affecting your judgment.