A Choice Between Anger and Freedom

The world is one percent what life hands you, and ninety-nine percent how you react to it.”

A passage like this, no matter how cliché-sounding, helps you get through life.

Often times, when our expectations and needs are not met, we resolve to anger and frustration. We don’t realize that nursing anger hurts not only our loved ones and ourselves.

Ninety-nine percent is how we react to what life hands us. Improving the way you handle anger is really a matter of changing the way you see things or react to situations. A simple park bench may just be something that you sit on when you’re tired. For lovers, it’s where love found them. For the homeless, a rusty, old bench is their palace.

Anger can be a positive thing, if we choose to look at it that way. Often times, anger signals you that something must change. To see that, you must acknowledge how you are feeling. Once you accept your emotions, then you can start digging up the reasons why you’re angry and then commit to solve it. If it’s lack of sleep, maybe it’s just a matter of time management . Financial stress can be fixed with proper handling of income or by grabbing opportunities. If the cause is your partner, a fair and effective communication is your solution.

These various approaches in handling anger have been proven to remedy such negative emotions.

Physical activities, whether light or extensive, help our body produce “happy chemicals”. Leisure endeavors like reading books or magazines , watching movies, or simply enjoying an afternoon in a coffee shop divert our attention away from negative things. These also help our body and mind relax and think more clearly.

Laughter is, indeed, a medicine. Learning to laugh off embarrassments or unexpected circumstances prevents you from being clouded by anger. Taking things personally only drains you of your morale. What other people think is simply a reflection of their realm, not of you. Laughing also helps you become more forgiving of the shortcomings of other people and of your own lapses. Contrary to the popular belief that it is a sign of weakness, forgiving someone actually sets you free – free of unnecessary sufferings such as anger.

A healthy diet helps you feel good in all aspects – physically, mentally, and emotionally. If you are healthy, you get better at managing time and making decisions; therefore relieving you of stress that may cause anger. Nutritional supplements taken on a regular basis boosts your immune system so you become healthier and free from negative emotions. If you have a healthy body and mind, then you are able to effectively and respectfully get your thoughts and feelings across.

Think before you speak. Communicating when you’re angry only causes hurt in relationships. Take time to breathe deeply or to take a walk before you try to clearly state your feelings.

To be free of anger, frustrations, disappointments, you have to choose to be happy. Remember that careless reactions only bury us deeper in these unwanted and addictive emotions. Focus on the solution, not the problem. Do what you can to make things better.

A simple law of attraction plays an important role in your life. Visualizing that a colleague will again make fun of you, or a partner always neglects your needs, only attracts more negative things in your life. Choose to visualize better and happier things. Think about spending a great afternoon with your loved ones, or your boss acknowledging and appreciating your performance. Choose to attract what you want, not what you’re dreading. Choose to be free, not a prisoner of anger.