Anger – It can help boost your career

If you are wondering how anger can boost your career, then you are at the right place. Read on to know how.

Negative emotions such as fear and anger are inborn and are of tremendous importance. Negative emotions are often crucial for survival: careful experiments such as ours have documented that negative emotions narrow and focus attention so we can concentrate on the trees instead of the forest.

This is what Professor George Vaillant, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School had to say.

Anger can be both constructive and destructive. It is anybody’s guess as to which type of anger can help you boost your career – It indeed is constructive anger.

In a previous post we discussed about the importance of controlled aggression. In contrast to it, one does not need to suppress or, control his anger. Instead  what is required is to channelize it properly.

What is anger?

Anger is a reaction to the feeling of helplessness, when you realize that you want to do something, but you are not able to do it.

Professor George Valliant, further has to say that,

“People think of anger as a terribly dangerous emotion and are encouraged to practice ‘positive thinking’, but we find that approach is self-defeating and ultimately a damaging denial of dreadful reality. Negative emotions such as fear and anger are inborn and are of tremendous importance. Negative emotions are often crucial for survival: negative emotions narrow and focus attention so we can concentrate on the trees instead of the forest.”

So what is required is controlled and constructive anger. But how will you ensure that your anger is constructive?

Ways of channelizing anger into constructive forms:-

• Whenever you feel angry, try not to exhibit that in public. The best way to control the exhibition of anger is to tell yourself, “Relax, relax”. Keep saying it to yourself until you start to feel that your temper is lowering down.
• Sit down and think, as to whose fault was it, that gave rise to the situation. Think logically for about 5-10 minutes and you will start to realize that your too were partially at fault.
• We described anger as an emotion against in-capability to do something. The solution hence lies in the statement. Find what capability is it that you are found wanting for. Work towards attaining that capability – if you cannot gain it yourselves, network with people who have power and capability.

How can anger help you at work?

Most often, you get angry at work because of increasing dissatisfaction. Other reasons could be strained relationships with your superiors, excessive work pressure, inability to control certain decisions etc.

Each of these reasons can trun out to work in your favor if you learn the art of channelizing your anger in a constructive way. You will learn to network better and would be able to build stronger realtionships with your superiors, peers and subordinates. You will also learn to better manage your time and delegate work. You will start to find reasons of being satisfied, or you will look for better opportunities that provide you satisfaction. You will also be in a better situation to bifurcate professional and personal things and will learn not to bring work to home, thus bringing harmony and peace to your home.

What is your thoughts on constructive anger? What are your choices of channelizing anger in a constructive way?

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