Like any emotion, anger is something all of us experience from time to time. But while some of us rarely get angry, others find themselves in a constantly unpleasant and aggressive state of mind. Learning how to control anger is something all of us need
Like any emotion, anger is something all of us experience from time to time. But while some of us rarely get angry, others find themselves in a constantly unpleasant and aggressive state of mind. Learning how to control anger is something all of us need to do for maintaining a healthy mindset.
Usually when we get extremely emotional, we are no longer in control. Anger causes the most problems because not only does it makes you do things you later regret, it also leaves you shaken up and feeling troubled afterwards. Additionally, it may easily evolve into rage, an extreme representation of anger. As daredevil quote goes:
Anger is a spark. Rage is wildfire – out of control, therefore useless.
Stick, Marvel’s Daredevil
Anger can work for you or against you. It’s raw energy which an be harnessed and directed toward a certain goal, but if you let it get our of your hands, it will bring down a storm of shit on your life.
Universal goal of life is trying to experience more pleasant emotions (happiness, love, pride) and less unpleasant emotions (fear, sadness, anger). Still, you can’t choose what you feel and throughout life you will always touch both ends of the spectrum. Contrary to what some people may believe, you can’t avoid feeling anger. And that’s normal.
However, you also can’t suppress it; if you try to push it down, it’s going to keep eating you from the inside and make your life even more miserable. Before trying to change or influence it in any way, it is essential to understand that anger is here to stay. But that can actually be a good thing – it all depends on your perception.
Anger starts causing serious problems when it stops you from thinking clearly. Generally, there are two ways we process information and reach conclusions; by using logical or emotional reasoning.
Logical reasoning means dealing with facts and evidence, drawing conclusions based on straightforward thinking using induction or deduction. For those unfamiliar with these terms, deduction means reaching a conclusion based on established premises (just like Sherlock Holmes does), and induction is the opposite, concluding specific premises based on general facts.
Emotional reasoning is very different. It occurs when certain emotions overflood you to the point where you are unable to think logically. Emotions cloud your judgment so much that people often believe they are 100% right even when presented with evidence proving otherwise.
If you get into a fight and become enraged, you are done. You are no longer controlling the situation – the anger is controlling you. That’s why angry people in a hyper-emotional state often say things they normally wouldn’t, even things they don’t actually believe.
Anger is a powerful emotion, and any emotions is an experience; you can’t avoid it, you can’t suppress it, you can only choose how to perceive it.
DESTRUCTION VS MOTIVATION
The aspect of anger you should focus on is that it’s fuel you can use to jump-start certain activities and unleash your inner creativity. It enables you to switch off the logic reasoning and simply do things without thinking too much.
Most people let anger get the best of them and go into Hulk mode – they shape their thoughts differently, chan