Is anger good or bad? Most would say that anger is bad.
Anger can be both negative and positive—it depends on how you use it.
Anger is viewed as a negative emotion when people say and do nasty things. They curse, throw things, and destroy relationships. At an extreme level, they set things on fire and hurt others when they are angry. All negative.
Let’s discuss the other side of anger.
Anger can be used a motivator. When you see things you don’t like, you get frustrated, you get angry, you make it better.
Examine today’s political climate. Many folks don’t like what is going on. I cannot remember a time when we have had so many marches and rallies against policy, whether it’s to convince politicians to pass something or to vote against it. That anger or frustration is leading people to action.
When I see situations at J2 or in my life not going the way I want, I must admit I do get annoyed (another form of anger). I tend to examine the situation and start figuring out how to fix it. Frustration and anger become my motivators to improve what I do not like.
Peace Pilgrim said about anger, “Do not suppress it – that would hurt you inside. Do not express it – this would not only hurt you inside, it would cause ripples in your surroundings. What you do is transform it.”
What frustrates or angers you enough to make things better?
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!