Some people wear their anger about a situation like a badge, to show off and share with their friends on social media. Regrettably the anger they are disclosing to the world can be doing more personal harm than good. Harmful feelings take up space inside of you and will just continue to grow unless you do something about it. Being angry doesn’t solve the problem at hand because it is a personal emotion you are experiencing internally. So, before you can plan actions that can change the situation to alter your mood, you first must learn how to let anger go.
When you receive any information, how do you process it? Do you have an immediate reaction and just let your emotions take over your words and actions? Do you take in the information, process it, and think about your response? How you process information will impact on how you handle your anger. Learning to pause and think about your response both verbally and physically is something that must be practiced. I like to ask myself a few questions to pause my immediate emotional response. Is this something I can control? Is there something I can do about it in this moment? Does this need my immediate response or can I take time to process? Asking yourself questions can disrupt the need for immediate reaction. Some situations regardless of circumstances will make you angry, but you don’t have to hold onto it.
Think about why you are angry. Why does this upset you and what outcome could make you feel better? Once you understand the anger’s origin, then start to plan the action that can change it.
For example, let’s say someone took a pack of toilet paper out of your grocery cart when you were not looking. You can go off and yell about it and start complaining on social media about this mystery bad person; or you can ask yourself, I wonder what made this person so desperate to take something from me? Can I find toilet paper somewhere else or look online so I don’t go without?
You could let this one situation ruin your day and make you untrusting of those in the grocery store, or you could tell yourself, this situation that happened was out of my control. Yes, it was unfortunate and inconvenient; I will now plan to solve the problem and move on with my day. Remember you have a choice on how you respond.
Remember to experience your emotions, take time to think about it and ask yourself clarifying questions, redirect your energy, and focus to solving the issue. This is something that must be practiced and learned through experience. Honestly being angry does not provide a mental or physical benefit to you. Especially if you hold onto it and continuously share it with others. So instead of spreading your anger to the world, learn to get rid of it and plan out actions to make the situation better.