Happy by Derren Brown

Author:Derren Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joosr Ltd

Learn to be the master of your anger and it will no longer be the master of you

Anger can be a swift killer of joy, peace, and contentment. There are so many irritations that can drive us to distraction each day. Whether it’s a rude driver, a pedantic colleague, or an obstructive customer service advisor, sometimes life seems to have designed itself to be as annoying as possible. But while it’s true that aggravations are everywhere (and that there are some things in the world that we should be righteously angry about), the fact is that anger harms our spirits and prevents us from dealing with difficulties as calmly as we could.

So what can we do about it? Well, we need to acknowledge that we can’t always avoid feelings of rage—but that we can practice reacting to those feelings in a more cool-headed way, thus steering our actions in the right direction.

Again, we can look to Stoicism for guidance on this. Here are four Stoic approaches to dealing with anger:

Give yourself time to cool down. “Count to ten” might sound like a trite piece of advice, but there is wisdom to it—although sometimes it takes longer than counting to ten. For instance, if you receive a rude email, you might need to give yourself an hour or two before responding. The rule of thumb is to avoid responding to people and situations that make you angry until your emotions have calmed down.

Remember that you are not perfect, either. If your friend is late again, remind yourself of all the times in your life when you have kept people waiting. Or, if you’re usually punctual, think about other things you do that are annoying, such as being overly pedantic. All of us have irritating habits, including you.

Try to see things from the other person’s perspective. Let’s go back to the late-again friend. Perhaps they’re always late because they have small children, or live far out of town with an unreliable train service, or maybe they’re just more relaxed about timekeeping than you. Remember, there is always another side to the story. Put yourself in their shoes.

Manage your expectations. Life doesn’t always go as planned, and expecting otherwise is a sure recipe for daily frustration. Aim to form realistic expectations about the world and other people.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.