Fight When it's Time to Fight. Be Gracious When It's Time to Give In.

I went to the gym today and jumped into the pool as I do five times a week. I always picked the right most lane which was wider than the rest (so I have more room to do breast strokes). After a few laps, I noticed the lady who was sharing my lane kept giving me the stink eye. I thought nothing of it until she stopped me and started giving me a lecture on pool etiquette. She thought I was a complete ass for not greeting her before I jumped in and for not asking for her permission to share. Besides being impolite, she thought I was also unsafe. I paused for about 10 microseconds and I decided to apologize. As an entrepreneur, those are your choices. After many painful lessons, I finally learned how to pick my battles and getting in an argument with an old lady in my shorts was a good use of my argumentative skill. As an entrepreneur, it is often best to just let it roll over your shoulder so you can save your dry powder for the real fight.

As a twenty-something, I've only recently figured this out (I would say within the last 5 years), and I can say that life is much more enjoyable when you learn to recognize things you can't change by getting upset, and let them go. Driving on the road with a-holes is indeed at the top of this list.

It is also much easier to be empathetic and see someone else's side when you're able to keep a level head. One rule I made for myself a couple years ago is that I try not to argue with anyone unless I can argue their side first. By that time, it's no longer a potential argument, but rather a discussion.

I once tried to convince my bus driver that hacker is a title worthy of a programmer or that a programmer can be called a hacker.

I gave up trying to convince her. (Incidently, she have a computer-loving husband, and also worked with programmers many years before)

I figured if the ignorant want to be ignorant, they will.

True. The other side should always be gracious when it's time for them to give in.