"Avez-vous déjà remarqué que toute personne conduisant plus lentement que vous est un idiot et toute personne allant plus vite que vous est un maniaque"

This quote highlights a common human tendency to view our own way of doing things as the "golden standard." When we talk about driving, it becomes a funny but insightful example of how our perception of others is often skewed by our own biases.

Imagine you’re driving down the highway. If someone zips past you, they're automatically labeled a maniac. They're driving too fast—reckless, right? But what about the person who’s doing 10 miles under the speed limit? Well, they’re just an idiot—why can’t they keep up? In both cases, we’re not considering their perspectives, situations, or reasons. We’re purely judging based on our own speed, our own comfort zone.

The quote is really a nod to our egocentric nature. It’s not just about driving. We do this in so many aspects of life. Historically, this kind of thinking has been around forever. People have always judged others based on their own standards and behaviors. It’s like a built-in feature of the human psyche.

Okay, let’s bring this down to a real-life scenario. Picture you're at work, and you’ve been assigned a team project. You’ve got deadlines, and there’s a way you like to get things done. Now, you have one colleague who’s super laid back, taking their sweet time—this annoys you. Another one is hyper, gets everything done yesterday, and keeps pressuring you to catch up. Both frustrate you because neither works at your pace.

The trick is to recognize this pattern and consciously break it. Next time you’re on the road, try to think about why someone might be driving slower. Maybe they’re new in town, or there’s a baby on board. And the speedster? Maybe they’re rushing to an emergency. We never truly know someone else’s story.

So, how do you apply this bit of wisdom? Start by practicing empathy. Next time someone’s doing something differently than you, pause and consider their situation. It’s not easy—habits are tough to break. But just this small shift in thinking can make you more understanding, less judgmental, and frankly, a bit happier.

Imagine you’re at a coffee shop with a friend. They’re venting about someone at work who they think is an idiot because they’re too slow, and another who’s a maniac for working too fast. You share this driving analogy with them. They laugh, but then you both realize how much you do this in your own lives. It’s a small epiphany over coffee, but a meaningful one.

The next time you catch yourself calling someone an idiot or a maniac—whether on the road, at work, or in any other setting—pause for a moment. Consider their context. Maybe, just maybe, they’re not the problem. It’s our perception that needs a tweak.

It’s about creating a bit more understanding in the world. One driver, one colleague, one friend at a time. And hey, if you can laugh at yourself in the process, that’s a bonus. Turns out, we all have a bit of the idiot and the maniac in us.