We all have different ideas about our futures.
We all have different present experiences.
But,
We all have something in common.
No matter how "laid back" you claim to be,
no matter how much you seem to have "everything together,"
no matter how many coping mechanisms you have...
We all have Pet Peeves.
Maybe your's are really common. Maybe you become annoyed by messy people, perhaps you just can't stand it when someone chews with their mouth open. Maybe your pet peeve(s) have been develop over time, or were formed by a single event. The point is; we all have these nuances that we face regularly, that just plain piss us off. Personally, I find it really difficult to pay attention through tangents, and since paying attention when someone is talking is important to me, this really frustrates me. Tangents are a pet peeve of mine. Some of my pet peeves are developed from less than healthy attachments. I am so physically glued to my cell phone, that when people don't respond to theirs', I find this really difficult to deal with.
Pet peeves, for the most part, have reason.
Much like fears, and anxiety, and happiness, and excitement... there's more to it than just the surface feeling. While the idea of a pet peeve usually has to do with your response to someone else's action (or inaction) or just general way of being, it's important to point to the beginning part of that sentence. A pet peeve usually has to do with your response. Most of us have a general understanding that any of us controlling the general populations' actions is just not an option. (Especially when we take into consideration when individuals have tried this, historically, it hasn't gone too well.) It would, then, seem that dealing with our pet peeves is our responsibility. I cannot disrupt a lecture to tell a professor to get back on topic. I cannot cut off friendships with people just because they deal with technology and communication differently than I do. (This last one is especially my problem.) So, what does this leave us with? It leaves us with the understanding that our pet peeves, and especially our reactions to our pet peeves, are our responsibility.
On the other side of the bad penny...
We all have quirks. This is very close to the common ideology that none of us are perfect. If you don't subscribe to that ideology, I don't know how you have put up with the typos and probable improper grammar throughout this website. None of us are perfect, so there is a great probability that you are the source of someone's pet peeve. For instance, if your pet peeve is people people who make comedic commentary during movies, I am the source of your pet peeve (and unapologetically so).
It comes down to this, we all have pet peeves, and we all cause them. Unless you're a hermit, then it's all you buddy.
So, perhaps the answer comes in the form of perspective. Are tangents going to be the death of me? I doubt anyone has ever died from tangent exposure. I'll live. But more importantly, the person giving the tangent may be telling a story either they need to tell, or it's a story someone else needs to hear. Messy people may have different priorities. Maybe the person who chews with their mouth open literally cannot breathe through their nose. The point is, pet peeves will always exist. However, the way we deal with them can get better as we mature, as we decide to take the other into consideration, and decide that tolerance is far more important.
Now, will your please for the Love of God stop tapping your pencil???!!
Thanks for reading guys!
-Em.