Managing Your Anger With The Boss

    It's Saturday morning; you sit in your favorite chair cup of coffee in hand, a nice breakfast laid out in front of you. After a long, and particularly stressful week at work you plan to enjoy your day off, relax, move slowly, not have to rush here and there, spend time with your family and friends, or maybe just catch up on all those  shows saved on your DVR. Whatever you choose to do, it doesn’t matter, this day is yours and you plan on savoring every moment of it. 

You sigh contentedly and lift your fork, about to take your first bite of your lovely breakfast, when the phone rings. Once, you ignore it, twice and you are starting to get irritated, by the third ring you get up just to silence the ringer when you happen to glance down at the caller ID, and notice that your boss is calling.  Great, you think to yourself. You know exactly why he is calling. Either he messed up the scheduling again, or one of your coworkers has called in “sick” and now you are stuck with having to go     in, on your very hard earned day off.

Instantly, your anger is through the roof and you are furious! More than anything, you want to pick up that phone and really give the boss a piece of your mind, but thankfully something stops you; this time. 

While that instant satisfaction would feel great, you know that the consequences of that action would not. You take a few deep breaths and calm yourself before you answer. Sure enough, the boss wants you to come into work. While you don’t want to go in today, you are polite on the phone and go to quickly get ready.

If any of this sounds familiar, you are not alone! Life is not always pleasant, situations that make you angry will always pop up. It is how you respond to those situations that really matter. Just because one day sucks, is no reason to let anger rule your judgment, and cause you to act out ruining many more days to come. Each day is a new beginning, and each moment offers you a new course to take. Make sure you decide to take the best course every time, by not letting anger cloud your mind. One anger management technique to quickly get yourself back under control is to close your eyes, and count to ten while taking several slow deep breaths. Another is to tear paper into little pieces. Redirecting your hot thoughts away from the trigger is the key to regaining your self control.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anger, and it feels out of control, perhaps it is time to seek professional help. For more information and a free consult, please call 1-888-992-6479, or visit us at www.nvamc.com.