It is no secret that we humans are driven more by our emotions and feelings rather than just thought, though that is what most of us would like to believe. A lot, if not most, of our decisions are purely emotion based and that is completely fine.

The problem arises when those decisions are based off of negative emotions. We humans are capable of two opposite spectrums of emotions and feelings. The positive ones and the negative ones.

Granted that, some of the positive emotions lead to bad decisions as well, but almost all of your negative emotions-based decisions will end up being poor. One particular one that I want to talk about today is anger.

In my own personal opinion, anger is a really pointless emotion to have. No, I am not perfect and I too get angry at times but I recognise that being angry does no good and is kind of self-destructive.

Punishment For Others’ Mistakes

Gautama Buddha, perhaps the ultimate symbol and peace and love, once said, “To be angry is to let others’ mistakes punish yourself.” Isn’t that such an eye-opener?

When we get angry, it is usually because we perceive that other people made some kind of mistake in terms of actions, behaviours, words and what not that we deem as so repulsive that we immediately get angry.

When we get angry, not only is our mental peace destroyed, it even takes a toll on our bodies. Our heart beats faster, our blood pressure rises, there is an adrenaline rush, our breathing gets heavier, and all that ends up harming your body.

So, in a way, you are punishing yourself due to someone else’s mistakes. It does absolutely no good as far as the situation is concerned and so I think, that this emotion of ours is just pointless!!

Leads To Bad Decisions

Anger is such a powerful feeling that people lose all sense of logical thought and are only focused on the cause of their anger and to somehow get even with that situation or person.

This kind of animalistic intent totally negates everything about being a human. As humans, we have the ability to think and to perceive a given situation from many different angles and to take impulsive actions goes against that.

That’s why anger almost always leads to bad decision, which not only ends up harming you in many different ways but also your loved ones. All because of something that wouldn’t even hold meaning in the long term.

So, the next time you are angry, stop for a second, take a deep breathe and ask yourself, “Is it really worth it?”, “Will this matter 5 years from now?” That will probably help you regain some of the control back and hopefully allow you to make a rational decision.

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." - Gautama Buddha