Respond

Sometimes unexpected situations arrive and hijack your day.

When they do, it’s tempting to respond with anger.

Today, I am angry.

But I’ve come to this conclusion:

Anger requires a response, not a release.

A release might mean punching a wall, flipping a desk, or yelling at someone. It may feel satisfying for a moment, but it often leaves other people carrying the weight of our emotions.

A response is different.

A response is taking a deep breath. It is creating a little space between the emotion and the action. It is remembering that the person standing in front of you is a human being, not simply the target of your frustration.

What feels good in the moment isn’t always good for the people around us.

So when anger shows up, I don’t want to pretend it isn’t there. I want to acknowledge it. I want to listen to what it’s trying to tell me.

Then I want to choose my next step.

Because responding to anger—not simply releasing it—is what allows it to leave in a healthy way.

When anger shows up in your day, what does the space between feeling it and acting on it usually look like for you—and who benefits when you widen that space?