The Importance of Embracing Anger (and all of our emotions) - a podcast by Mike Robbins
from 2019-09-10T07:00
This week, we talk about healthy ways of feeling and expressing our anger (and all of our emotions), both at work and at home. I share my own personal experience of staying with anger to get to the root of the issue and why we tend to suppress our emotions in the first place. I also provide some of my personal favorite ways to get in touch with our emotions and express them in ways that are positive and give us our power.
Key Takeaways
[2:28] When you lean into discomfort and have the sweaty-palm conversations, you often find better communication and a deeper understanding of the different perspectives and expectations.
[5:53] Emotions aren’t positive or negative but become problematic when we suppress them and don’t feel them authentically. We’ve been trained as adults to suppress our emotions and be “adult” and professional, which means we can feel stuck and pent up with our feelings.
[11:08] Anger is often a secondary emotion, and the bursts of anger can really be unresolved hurt and disappointment.
[12:11] Being nice is one thing, but suppressing our feelings and disappointment can come out in sideways or passive-aggressive ways. There is value in giving ourselves the freedom to identify and tap into all emotions.
[19:22] Emotions come and go, and feeling a certain way is different than being that way.
When we say “I’m feeling mad,'' as opposed to “I’m mad,” it makes it more about the passing emotion and less about living in a state of anger.
[26:15] A few of Mike’s best techniques for processing our feelings and getting them out: write an anger letter, practice visualization, journal, do healthy productive things to get the anger out physically.
[29:05] Great leaders provide a safe space for their team to express their emotion. It takes emotional intelligence and maturity but will help establish a place others can share openly without judgment or fear.
Resources:
Purchase Bring Your Whole Self to Work and gain access to bonus material
“How to Embrace the Discomfort of Creating What Matters To Us”
Further episodes of We're All in This Together
Further podcasts by Mike Robbins
Website of Mike Robbins