Anger is a Catalyst
Feeling angry about certain aspects of your life? Your anger is a sign that something needs to change. Listen to your inner voice. The emotions that you are experiencing may point to problems that need resolving. Let’s talk about that.
Time to Resolve Conflicts
Emotions like disgust, impatience, resentment, and contempt are cousins of anger. If you’re having feelings like these directed at yourself or other people in your life, may point to a conflict that needs resolving. Is there someone that you need to have a talk with and present your point of view?
Friendships
If you feel angry, it may mean you’re outgrowing your friends. Sometimes the company that we keep is not always in favor of the person we are striving to become. Is it time to explore new relationships that will be more nurturing to our spirit and a catalyst for inner growth?
How does anger impact our relationships?
What makes you angry? If you harbor resentment toward others, it may be time to make changes in your relationships. If you tend to direct anger inward because you don’t wish to hurt others, you’re hurting yourself which isn’t any better. Anger can point to a time to initiate some personal growth.
Workplace
Are you angry because your job does not inspire you? Do you feel taken advantage of at the place where you work? Your angry feelings may point to the need to pursue a new career path.
Do you feel some amount of self-directed anger about how you look? Do you make fun of others to avoid confronting your own issues around health, fitness, and taking care of your body? Working off that angry energy will do wonders for your self-esteem and your health.
Releasing Anger
Anger isn’t always something that you have to stuff down and deny. In fact, suppressing anger is really bad for you. Internalizing feelings puts stress on the body. We carry that stress in our muscles. We eat the wrong foods, like sugar, to replace the bad, stressful feelings with a dopamine rush.
Our nervous system bears the load of that stress. Eventually, as we age, the accumulation of stress results in chronic disease.
You don’t have to act on angry feelings. Think of a toddler who has a temper tantrum. The child isn’t getting his or her way. The only method he or she can think of to solve the problem is intimidating others. The child screams, cries, throws a fit and displays physical aggression.
Grown people don’t do this. Adults have learned to control their emotional impulses. Adults set an example for young people to follow as a model of good behavior and positive influence on those around them. People with good self-control get along better with others, work well in teams and accomplish more. If you’re generally regarded as an angry person, it may mean that you have control issues. It’s time to move past these issues and into a more mature way of being.
Grown adults who continue to act on their angry impulses are sabotaging their relationships and opportunities. Even though people may give them their way out of fear of the angry person doing or saying something bad or hurtful, over time they’ll find a reason to quit the relationship. They may begin to quietly work against the angry individual because they don’t enjoy being bullied and manipulated emotionally.
If you tend toward angry outbursts, take a hard honest look at your relationships. It is far more satisfying to have friendships and romantic partnerships that are based on honest connection rather than fear and intimidation. The latter is what happens when you go around being a hothead, taking out your angry feelings on others.
Next: Hear the Roar: The Transformative Message of Your Anger | Previous: The Power of Rage: Using Anger to Fuel Self-Discipline
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