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Insights on Life July 1, 2020 2 min read

Anger is not a driving force

Last week I shared my thoughts on why we should choose love over anger.

Anger is not a driving force

Last week I shared my thoughts on why we should choose love over anger.

Today I wanted to share with you what happens when we choose anger instead.

When we allow awareness to repeatedly go to the angry area of the mind we strengthen this area of the mind. Many of you have heard me repeat my guru’s quote “where awareness goes, energy flows” many times. When we allow our awareness to keep going to a particular area of the mind we allow energy to flow there repeatedly. The more energy flows to that area of the mind the more energy is deposited there. That particular area then becomes stronger or more magnetic as it is filled with energy. The more magnetic it becomes the more it has the ability to pull your awareness there which means it will be very easy for you to get angry.

Here’s an example.

Take an athlete who uses anger as motivation to perform better on the field. A lot of athletes do this and a lot of athletes are told to get angry or feel angry by their coaches as a form of motivation. Because of this they develop a strong angry area of the mind.

Now, during a game, if an opposition player says something to them on the field, it’s very easy for their awareness to go to the angry area of the mind because it is so magnetic. As a result, they get upset by what was said to them and they lash out. The referee notices this and sends the player that lashes out off the field. All because he could not control his reaction and responded in anger. An anger he had been cultivating for years as part of trying to be driven on the field.

Athletes that you use anger as a motivation are misguided in being told to do so.

You want to cultivate willpower to drive you. You want to cultivate a love for the game to drive you. A desire for success. A desire to be the best or for mastery to drive you. Never anger.

The same applies in every other aspect of life. Don’t use anger as a driving force. If you do you will only cultivate a force that will be detrimental to you as opposed to serving you.

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Dandapani

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Dandapani

Dandapani is a Hindu priest, entrepreneur, former monk of ten years, and the author of The Power of Unwavering Focus. He lives in Nosara, Costa Rica, where he and his wife are building a Hindu spiritual sanctuary and botanical garden. Each week he writes one teaching to help you live a focused, purposeful life.

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