Envision this:

You are driving down a Los Angeles freeway in the carpool lane when you notice that traffic is stopping in the right few lanes. However, the car pool lane keeps moving. As you get closer to where traffic is stopped, someone crosses the double yellow lines and cuts you off forcing you to slam on your breaks. You immediately start honking your horn and riding their bumper until you feel like you've taught them a lesson.

We are all guilty of doing this at least once in our lives (For some, at least once a day). Now as good as you feel about yourself thinking you taught them a lesson, chances are you actually didn't teach them anything. You probably made their day worse. Even worse, you have no idea why that person cut you off in the first place. What if they were late for work?

The video "Every Life Has A Story" has a similar perspective. It was created by Chick-fil-A as a training video for their employees. It is designed to teach their employees that you never know what the person you are serving is going through. They could be in the midst of a divorce, recovering or dealing with abuse, or just having a bad day.

You do not know what that person next to you is going through.

I'm guilty of being the person who honks their horn when someone cuts them off on the freeway, and I'm not proud of it. But perspective is important -- what if that person had a good reason?

What if they are late getting to work and need to get there on time otherwise they will be fired? What if they need that job to survive? What if it's a father trying to get to the hospital to see his child born? What if that person is having a bad day and instead of getting honked at, needs nothing but a hand wave saying "It's OK, go ahead and pass me."

This perspective can be applied to every situation in our lives. What if that classmate you sit next to constantly talks to you because they don't receive attention anywhere else? Maybe laughing at that kid's joke that isn't funny is going to give him a confidence boost that is going to stop him from going home and cutting himself. Maybe the simple smile to that person walking past you will give them the positive energy they need to get through their day. Maybe that person in line next to you at Starbucks that you decide to talk with and not simply ignore was depressed, feeling invisible in this fast pace world. Just maybe...

Initiating positive conversation with a person in line with you, or choosing to not retaliate at the person who cut you off in traffic isn't going to make your life any worse. You never know the impact it could have on their lives.