Taming Anger

A philosopher once said, "Conquering others is great, but he who conquers himself is greatest." If we are to become "conquerors" of ourselves, we must be able to control the turmoil that rage within us. We must first be masters of our emotions. Nothing needs controlling more than our emotions. Anger is one such emotion which many find difficult to control.

Simply feeling angry is not wrong, yet anger is a negative emotion which depletes, unnecessarily, our emotional stamina. As rational beings, we should learn how to cope with situations which angers us; otherwise, it will consume us and destroy our relationships with important people in our lives, such as our spouses, kids and friends.

Of course, anger must be expressed and deal with; if not, it will ruin our health. However, in dealing with our anger, we should not allow it to get the better of us. We have to look for ways of expressing it, so as not to let it produce its negative effects in our lives.

Not allowing our anger get the better of us has biblical basis. It is in the Bible, in Ephesians 4:26 where it is stated: "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger." Letting our anger go unchecked also have some legal implications, depending on what we will do in our angry state.

There are many things in our world that trigger our anger. We would not be human or abnormal if our anger will not be roused by corrupt people in the government, by media people who are AC-DC (Attack and Collect; Defend and Collect) practitioners. Then, there are the drug pushers, child abusers and child molesters. Grrrrrrr!

There are also many ways we can do to ward off the ill effects of anger. Here are five suggestions:

1. We have to admit that we are angry. To deny that we are angry is unhealthy, so we should admit that we are irritated, upset, mad, and or angry;
2. We should know the real reason of our anger. Maybe what made us hopping mad about the inadequacy of others are our own inadequacies which we are unable to accept;
3. We have to take an honest look at our anger and endeavor to place things in their proper perspective. It will help to ask ourselves if raving, ranting and exploding will help us solve the problem or aggravate the situation further;
4. We must talk to someone. Not just anyone. Someone who is from the outside looking in. Someone who care enough to listen. Someone we trust.
5. We should be responsive not reactive. Instead of reacting automatically to whatever trigger our anger, we can respond by making a hasty retreat. Removing our angry selves from the site of our anger can prevent disastrous occasions we will regret later on.

   Indeed, it is not a matter of never getting angry, but rather, it is a matter of how we get angry.

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