Reasons Why Anger can be Constructive

With free time to spare, now I’ll be heeding an interesting topic today suggested by The Daily Post:

Topic #219:

Can anger be constructive?

Topic submitted by Corkscrewboo-hoo.

Definition of Anger

First, let’s define what is anger. In the website of American Psychological Association, quoting Encyclopedia of Psychology as their source, Anger is stated as:

Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.

Anger can be a good thing. It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems.

But excessive anger can cause problems. Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and mental health.

Yes, anger is a natural. It’s part of our emotions and it’s in our instincts. Anger is sometimes good. It protects us when our ego is being trampled. It keeps us from being humiliated in front of other people. It sometimes makes us assertive in a way that we can express our own feelings in a positive way. But most of the time, the problem arises when it results to a violent reaction.

There’s a saying in Filipino that is roughly translated as: “Too much of something is dangerous.” And this saying also applies with anger. When the intensity of anger rises up, that’s when anger becomes uncontrollable. And when a person is being controlled by excessive anger, that’s where the problem arises.

Anger as Constructive?

Aside from being destructive, what about anger’s constructive side? I believe that Anger is also Constructive. And these are my top 10 reasons:

• It makes us assertive (rather than aggressive).

• Anger Makes People Want Things More.

• It inspires us to perform better. For example in sports , when frustrated, it makes an athlete to perform better. (Though it may look like being aggressive. I’ve watch the dunking video of Blake Griffin and it proved me right… I guess.)

• People who are angry pay more attention to rewards than to threats.

• It lets others know what makes you angry, making them realize to be considerate of their actions.

• Determining what makes us angry can lead to a better understanding of ourselves.

Can’t think of other reasons now. How about you? What are your other reasons why anger can be constructive?