If you are here reading this, chances are you’re angry. And that’s completely okay. Anger is an emotion that demands to be felt, irrespective of what you have heard growing up. Anger and disappointment are justified if you are frustrated because someone wronged you.
Despite being perceived as a “negative” emotion, anger often comes with perks. It’s a great motivator and an emotion that has the potential to make us feel a drive for action. But these positive outcomes don’t happen with the flip of a switch.
You can’t expect to be angry one moment and then suddenly feel motivated the very next. Feelings of injustice, powerlessness, and failure are common when you are angry. But how do you take these emotions and turn them into positive energy?
As a life-leadership coach and trainer, I have worked with clients and aspiring coaches whose only battle is their anger. This blog will highlight the 5 best ways to channel your frustration and anger through a positive outlet.
1. What Can you Change at the Moment?
Anger doesn’t exist in the void. There are triggers that make you feel frustrated at the moment, enough to lose your inhibitions.
It could be due to a pointless fight you had with your sibling, or it could be due to a promotion that your boss gave away to someone else. The triggers are infinite, and they are scattered around us.
But there are moments when you can use frustration as fuel for motivation. You can treat it as a catalyst for your improvement.
Instead of sitting there sulking and wondering, “What went wrong?”, pick apart the situation and identify what you can change at that moment. Being angry isn’t a resolution; it is just a form of expression.
The situation surrounding you is still unstable and probably a mess. Identify what’s causing your anger and decide what you can change in that situation.
I’ll give you an example. I recently worked with a coaching client whose main concern was that they always felt irritated and frustrated. He was lashing out at his family members and wasn’t at peace.
Upon talking and discussing during our coaching session, he said that his work environment is extremely toxic. And, since he couldn’t express his frustration at the “source,” he wrongly channeled it toward his family.
It’s been a few weeks since our first session, and he is currently working for a different company because he chose his peace of mind over the toxic work culture. Sometimes, your anger can be misplaced if you don’t identify what’s wrong and what you can do to change it.
2. Take a Deep Breath
One of the best ways to transform frustration into positive action is through mindfulness. As Bil Keane says, “Your mind is like this water, my friend; when it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.”
Anger is often a stress response. We feel frustrated when we are unable to meet our deadlines or when we are stressed about a situation that’s probably not in our control.
Deep breathing alleviates that stress response. Instead of making your mind actively focus on the triggers behind your frustration, mindfulness meditation and deep breathing act as buffers. It allows you to reflect on your breathing and shift your focus from the negative aspect.
Once you are calm and collected, it allows you to rationalize your thoughts and take the right actions at that moment. Getting that time of peace also prevents you from making impulsive decisions and instead turns your frustration into a positive outcome.
3. Develop a Perspective
It takes us a lot of time to be happy and content, but anger and frustration come within seconds. You could be the happiest person now and become angry if triggered otherwise.
But that’s the biggest factor in being frustrated. It happens within seconds and ebbs away within seconds, too (provided you are working on eliminating it).
It is human nature to be frustrated. There’s nothing wrong with it. But when a situation triggers anger and frustration in you, do you stop and ask yourself, “Will this matter a week from now?”
This shift in perspective allows you to identify whether being angry at that moment will yield favorable results in the days to come. When you know within yourself that it won’t, it allows you to use that feeling of frustration and turn it into something more substantial—a charge of motivation.
4. Make your Voice Heard
Your feelings of liberation and motivation lie in your inner voice. If you are angry because you feel suppressed, take that moment to assess why.
Why is your voice suppressed? Why can’t you express what you are feeling? Why do you have to internalize your frustrations?
If the answer to these “WHYs” is fear, it's time to overcome that feeling. No good comes out of a fear of failure, especially if your mind is filled with feelings of lacking confidence, poor self-esteem, and a lack of control over your life.
Use your energy to make your voice heard by the people who matter. Remember that empowerment starts with you. You are your biggest motivator, and you are your biggest challenge.
5. Channel your Energy in a Positive Way
Did you know that a 2020 research linked anger and frustration with the neurotransmitter norepinephrine? This chemical triggers our sympathetic nervous system to elicit feelings of fight or flight in a state of urgency.
In short, your frustration is energizing you. So, why not make the most of it?
And, no, I am not telling you to use that energy to get yourself into a fight. Instead, channel your energy in a positive way. You can use that energy to get work done around the house. Expending this sudden “bout of energy” is crucial to settling your frustration.
But the best part? You get to use your anger to make positive changes around you.
Final Words
These are some of the best ways to turn frustration into extra motivation. But it is a work in progress. Transforming your frustration into a motivation tool isn’t a day’s work; it requires a lot of practice.
If you are short-tempered or get frustrated easily, these tips might help you channel that frustration into something more productive and worthwhile.
Besides coaching, NLP techniques are also beneficial in helping you identify the source of frustration and then transform it into something positive in your life. So, why not tap into the benefits?
The best life coach in India at Matrrix provides one of the leading NLP Practitioner Certification programs to familiarize you with this technique's concepts, as coined by Dr. Richard Brandler and John Grinder.
Visit https://www.matrrix.in/licensed-nlp-certification-in-india for more details.
If you want to schedule a coaching consultation with me, visit https://www.matrrix.in/contact-us.
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