Anger

I've written before on fear, and why it can be used as a good motivational tool, but I wanted to take a minute to talk about how anger can be used in the same way. While I do believe that fear can and should be used motivationally, I feel like anger is a much more effective and easy to utilize tool for that purpose. Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm an angry person, and rather than learning to control my anger, I've learned to focus it. But honestly, I feel like that is the better way to go.

When I was younger and heavily active in martial arts, I used anger not only as a learning tool, but a teaching tool as well. I had a number of sparring partners who were... less than stellar. Their kicks were wild and unfocused, which made them weak, inaccurate, and easy to counter. It was something that I had noticed in myself for some time - this was around the time of going through brown belt and black belt, so I had plenty of experience under my belt, pun intended. So I told them to do exactly what I did. Think of someone you hate. Plaster their face over mine. And beat the shit out of me.

That sounds like bad advice, I know. It sounds like it would only make the wildness worse. But I know from experience that that's not true. When you have a goal in mind - in this case, beating up someone you hate - you become precise. Mechanical. It's not about kicking that person. It's about kicking that person in the face. Kicking that person so hard in the stomach that they double over and puke their brains out. And when that's what you want, that's what you get.

Of course, sometimes people didn't have that kind of anger. They didn't have someone that they could just think about and become precise. So in that case, I became that person for them. I wouldn't shut up as we sparred, telling them what they were doing wrong and moving faster than they could anticipate, landing blows on them that they could not on me. Without fail they would become angry. And then they would become better. And when all was said and done, I couldn't be prouder of them.

Recently, I've had a resurgence of this understanding. I've been unhappy with my weight for a long time now, and though I recognize that it is nothing in comparison to some, it irritates me to no end. And it has finally made me angry. Angry enough to swear of some of the foods that I love, but know are bad for me. Angry enough to up my workout schedule, adding in more cardio, which I hate doing. Angry enough to finally, hopefully, make a difference.

Don't misunderstand me, I don't like being angry. I'm not a good person to be around when I'm angry. But sometimes, that anger is the quick in the pants you need to set you in motion.

I just wouldn't recommend trying to be the catalyst for someone else's anger. I did it, but I was also in a position where that was a plausible thing for me to do. My goal was to get kicked. If you don't want to get kicked, well... Maybe shut your mouth before it gets shut for you.