Notes from Nathan: Managing Anger

Recently, I was talking with a fellow coach and we talked about the emotion that I shy away from the most.... ANGER. For a great portion of my life, I have been a happy person. I've stayed away from fighting. I do my best not to use profanity, although it slips from time to time. I would use the excuse, well I am only human, but that's a cop out, we do not need profanity to communicate in the world. We have grown so accustomed to hearing it that we have made it a regular part of our language. So much that many people can't have a conversation without it.

Many people spend a great portion of their lives filled with resentment. So much that it becomes an endless battle with themselves and in some cases, the rest of the world. Their resentment most likely stems from a past hurt that they never got over. Feelings resurface and they get caught up in the emotional element and take it on as if the offense happened for the first time. Anger is not a birth right. People do NOT come out of the womb angry. Rage and fury are learned behaviors.

• An angry person usually has a short fuse
• Angry people can battle depression and a series of physical problems.
• Those who live in fear tend to have a greater potential for expressing rage.
• Frustration is another way of detecting a person struggling with hostility.

How do you deal with anger? What actions do you consciously take to relieve yourself of resentful thoughts and feelings?

One way to deal with anger is to talk about it. Be willing to forgive and forget. Be willing to invent new possibilities with people. Look to grow and not be stifled by things that may have happened in your past. Don't let anger hold you hostage from achieving great things.

BE HAPPY!