Life is Too Short to Stay Angry

Life is so precious. Then why do we waste so much time doing things that are harmful to us? Most people I meet say that all they want is to be happy and to live a peaceful life. However, we all know how difficult that can be. After all, things happen that annoy, frustrate and hurt us. We have the right to get angry. But if you’re the type who gets angry at all sorts of difficulties, you may want to find an alternative way of behaving. In fact, anger can do terrible things to your mind and body.

By staying angry, you are not letting yourself be forgiving. It also makes you skeptical of others and fearful about getting hurt again. The problem with this is that you become bitter. Your optimism diminishes; you become less tolerant of others and perhaps a little too sarcastic. Plus, your body remains tense, nervous and uncomfortable and it gets harder to shake those feelings of hostility or displeasure.

Therefore, to ruminate, rehash and mope about things that already happened, just doesn’t work well on the psyche or the soul. So, if your goal in the latter part of your life is to have loving relationships, to get along with people, to have many friends, to work well with colleagues, etc, then you need to recognize how your thoughts are self-defeating and sabotaging your behavior.

You may ask yourself the following questions to get a good reality check on your thinking:

1. Does being angry relax me?
2. Does blaming others make me feel loving and connected?
3. Does shouting really help me communicate better?
4. Does worrying make me feel good?

It seems obvious that harboring these negative feelings may actually be harmful. Understand that if you can’t change the situation, you need to find another way to respond or let it go. If you are aware of your reaction to things, you’ll find that you may over exaggerate or make it worse than it actually is. Don’t be like the woman who wrote to Dear Abby saying that she fought with her father, didn’t speak to him for three weeks and when she finally decided to make amends, he died in a horrible accident.

Life is too short and there’s barely enough time to fit in all the things that make you happy. Don’t waste those precious moments staying angry when the time can be better spent pursuing your dreams and fulfilling your bliss. Anger has its place and time. Just don’t let anger get so out of hand that it determines the choices that you make. Your happiness depends not on your set of circumstances, but rather on how you act on it.