Self-Control--- Ways to Overcoming Anger



Anger is a very natural emotion. It is however,  a kind of emotion which degrades quality of life, career, and relationships. Its consequences are destructive and unpleasant. Angry people want everything  and everyone to work in a way suitable to them.

Lack of empathy and impatient behavior are signs of anger. Each of us has anger-trigger points. Anger can turn into a mood and the whole day can be wasted before we melt down to feeling normal. It is not pleasant when we tie ourselves down with frustration and are unable to help ourselves and others.

First, some tips and proven ways to help with anger:

Acceptance: Acknowledge your anger. Do not justify and rationalize. Accepting our anger and introspecting upon it so that it can teach us is the first step in overcoming it.

Make a short-term commitment to change: After we accept that we need to make a realistic commitment to change, we cannot expect to become perfect overnight; it’s a life-long practice. Be compassionate about yourself as much as you are for others.

Non-Judgmental approach: Don’t judge yourself too harshly and set that bar too high to reform yourself immediately. It may limit your success to overcome anger. Non-judgmental approach is vital to our success at self-improvement.

Journaling: keeping a mental diary. Writing our thoughts down will make us more aware of our perceptions, emotions and thoughts. Do not write what your brain initially wants you to write. Don’t narrate a story, or rationalize how things were unfair to you. Initially, thinking about an alternative explanation is very difficult and requires hard work and real commitment to change.

Do some fun things: dance, watch a movie, go out and meet your friends. Be with nature as in gardening or walking. This will not only help to reduce your anger momentarily but will also release happy chemicals in the brain. Also, Exercising is great as it generates positive hormones.  Listen to good music; it acts as a therapy.

Yoga and Meditation: the path from judgement to empathy via self-actualization. Meditation helps you examine your thoughts, introspect and make your feelings calmer.  One begins at being less impulsive and improves overall physical and mental health.

One needs to build a cafeteria approach from any of the items above as an antidote to curing one’s anger. By building self-awareness and self-control in daily activities we can rewire our brain and move towards calmness and serenity.


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