We all get angry. (I get angry all the time). And I know it clouds my judgement. We know that making decisions when angry is not a good idea.
This post from Eric Barker summarises the best of recent research on managing anger, which comes down to:
- Don’t deny it or suppress it
- Venting doesn’t actually work
- But reappraising / reframing it does.
I just read Brene Brown’s Rising Strong, where she makes a major deal out of the question “What if they (who are pissing you off) are doing the best thing they know how?” and today their dog died, their kid got fired from the only job he’ll ever get, they just got some bad news at a clinic. That’s reappraising. Whether it’s true or not it assumes that there’s a different reason than pissing you off that is making them act the way they do!
I’m going to try it!
