Anger: An Authentic Emotion

Over the years I have witnessed anger block far too many clients and associates from their goals. The sly thing about this success barrier is our refusal to acknowledge it. We think ‘anger’ is a bad thing, something for which we should be ashamed.

Anger is as valid an emotion as love. Who’s afraid to say something really moved us, that we love it? Anger moves us as well, just in a less comfortable manner.

Anger is an authentic emotion, unlike jealousy or greed. How does this authentic emotion block success?

More than ever before, people want authenticity. They want to see the real ‘you’, not just the shiny parts. If you refuse to accept all of you, how can others?

Avoiding something that angers you is like pushing a beach ball down in a pool of water. It keeps popping up in different locations.

It’s so much easier to focus upon someone or something else that angers you than to take a good hard look at yourself. Their reality is not yours. Let it go.

The slipperiest of angers’ barrier to success is the anger we hold for ourselves. Even the tiniest amount of self-loathing lives at a very deep level. When people say ‘I am my own worst critic’ I believe this what they are saying.

This is your week to bust your anger barrier wide open. Your tasks are simple:

Acknowledge your emotions and allow what angers you to become more real. If you say nothing angers you, you are lying to yourself.

Accept that this anger has taken a toll on you. Experience the feelings.

Make a game plan to let it go. Do you need to talk to someone, journal, throw light bulbs at a concrete wall, or stand by a freeway and scream?

Forgive whomever, including yourself. This step takes as long as it takes.

Release this anger.

(Example of anger surprising us: as author Christiane Northrup prepared to write her newest book, Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Creating a Legacy of Physical and Emotional Health, she decided to write about her own mother. She had a happy childhood yet, to her surprise, when she wrote about her mother immense anger surfaced. Until she did this work she had no idea she carried so much anger weight.)

Not enjoying reading this week’s ‘thought’? Then you most likely have an ‘anger’ barrier to success. No one will go through these steps for you…it’s up to you.

I challenge you to take this ‘anger’ issue seriously. Even if you reject the concept that it is a valid and authentic emotion that affects your success today, it most assuredly affects your quality of life. Have a great week and enjoy your discoveries!