Anxiety and anger are proportional; they are also complementary. Anger is an adaptive response to threat. It infuses bravery and encourages us to take action. If we learn to use anger to our advantage, it can provide motivation and purpose. Taking a pill for managing anxiety and sleeplessness is the knee-jerk reaction which can later turn into an addiction. Some physicians have a very low threshold for prescribing anti-depressants; making small lifestyle changes can do wonders.
Why We Need Negative Feelings?
Negative feelings should be used as an opportunity to turn around and bring a change in behaviour. There is a definite upside in feeling down. If we pay attention, negative feelings can help us identify what is wrong in our life. Feelings such as hopelessness and despair are empty emotions; it is impossible to take advantage from them. On the other hand, anger, sadness, anxiety, envy, and loneliness are based on reality and can be used advantageously. It is important to label the feeling and acknowledge it.
For example, if your heart is racing, then you are anxious. If you are feeling heavy in chest and have tense jaws, these are signs of sadness and anger, respectively.
Collective Vulnerability
Angry people judge others more harshly than they judge themselves. You need not share intimate feelings to feel good. Feeling good by spending money is an easy option in the near term, but not sustainable in the long term. A small suggestive list is given below for applying negative feelings beneficially:
Stay in control;
Pick your timing;
Know your audience;
Focus on your objective;
Believe your course of action will work;
Avoid anger if you want to be creative; and
Take a step-by-step approach.
How to Pursue a Purpose
Being comfortable with contradiction is a good start in finding and pursuing your purpose. You can be at the extreme ends of thought spectrum or somewhere close to the middle – either way, conviction and execution are what separates people and organizations. Authenticity is difficult and takes practice. Humans have developed herd mentality for the sake of perpetuity and safety.
Strategic Yes and Well-reasoned No
People can’t say no these days. They feel a strong sense of obligation to say yes too often. Trying to be a crisis manager, and being indispensable has removed no from the vocabulary of many. The situation has become more aggravated in current times as cost reduction measures have trimmed down workforce in almost every organisation. Multi-tasking has become a necessity, leading to burnout and loss of motivation. The apprehension of being on the wrong side of colleagues and the chain of command is making people agree to be part of new projects.
Every well-reasoned no creates room for a strategic yes.
Saying yes or no to a request or assignment should be carefully considered. The world, as we know it today was not built from sudden involuntary decisions. The progress humans have made is also not made from only saying no to every proposition. Yes, is a call for action and it dictates how the resources are allocated to get maximum return. Saying no doesn’t mean being lazy or incapable, but it means that a person thinks their time can be better utilized elsewhere. This situation should arise when there is more than one possible course of action.
Takers, Matchers and Givers
How we interact with others and work towards mutually beneficial goals lays the foundation for individual and collective success. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare variety of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries.
Purposeful Pursuits
Success is the product of skill, hard-work, perseverance, and good fortune. It is not easy to allocate percentages to these constituents because it varies from person to person. Some people, groups, and organisations get a taste of success early, while others tend to attain desired results over time. Struggle is part of life and when due attention is given to processes, iteration leads to eradication of shortcomings.
Growth is life and it brings prosperity to individuals, organisations, communities, and nation. An individual cannot grow in isolation. Good work may have brought wealth at a personal level, but it was only possible when actions and thoughts were applied for common good. Ideas give birth to products and services. Some ideas may seem like they came to us readymade, but it is seldom the case.
If All Else Fails
System Error? Time For a Restart
Occasionally, we may have to adopt a clean slate approach, where a fresh beginning is made, and the problem is analysed with new dimensions. We reach this point of reboot after experiencing the results of previous actions. There is no harm in pressing the restart button, but there can be certain failure if the problem is not diagnosed.