You know this feeling.
Your heart racing, your mind a foggy cloud of anger.
“How could they do this?!”
“But why?”
“I hate this!”
Just like worry or fear, anger is mostly useless (but not completely). It gives you the information that something happened you didn't want to happen. Something that triggered you deep inside.
Depending on how well you know yourself, there may be more. Anger may tell you you didn't get enough sleep, didn't eat enough, need exercise, or just that you're in a bad mood.
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” – Unknown
Holding onto anger - or worse, reacting based on anger - will not make you feel better. And it will definitely not improve the situation.
If you're angry, do what you need to calm down. Take a few deep breaths, go to a different room, or go for a walk. Don't hurt yourself or others.
Learn to see anger when it arises. Acknowledge that it is here, that you're feeling it right now. And then let it go.
Reading Recommendations
Could Mindfulness Help You Control Your Anger?
“Results showed that meditators gave significantly less hot sauce to the person who critiqued them than non-meditators did—even though they were equally angry after the critique. In other words, meditators were less willing to be vengeful.”
Why are harsh sounds so unbearable for the human brain?
“New research identifies which sounds are unbearable for the human brain and explains why we perceive them as such, uncovering complex neural connections.”
Why Cutting Costs is Expensive: How $9/Hour Software Engineers Cost Boeing Billions
“Regardless of which systems these engineers worked on, if you foster an engineering culture where developers are made to feel that management values fast and cheap over continuous progress and quality software, that will have a tremendously negative impact on both the quality and the timely delivery of your software. Buggy software takes longer to build.”
Weekly Mindfulness Practice
Notice 10 things you can see with a specific color. Look around. Can you spot 10 green things? Repeat this for a handful of colors. Can you get to 20 things with the same color? Bonus points if you breathe calmly and try to relax.
End Note
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Have a great week
Simon
PS: If you found an article you think others might like, and that fits this newsletter, I’d love it if you write me an email. Just reply!