Anger is an emotion that most of us must contend with. Oftentimes, it seems unavoidable, and surely one would be hard-pressed to go through life without experiencing anger and potentially suffering its consequences. However, when left unchecked, anger can be devastating to one’s mental well-being. Stoicism has much to say regarding anger and how to deal with it practically. In this article, the Stoic position of anger will be briefly discussed, followed by some practical wisdom on how to manage daily anger.

The Stoic position on anger

The Stoic position on anger is the same as with any other emotional response: Stoicism claims that all responses are caused by our judgments and perceptions. In other words, events, other people, or any other external does not make us angry; we make ourselves angry by the judgments we voluntarily choose to adopt.

This understanding is crucial because it means that, as a Stoic, you and only you are responsible for your anger issues. There is no one else to blame. That responsibility can be a hard pill to swallow, but the good side of it is that, because you own the problem, you also own the solution to your own problem!

Practically managing anger 

With a base understanding of how the Stoics viewed anger, let us discuss practical methods to managing it.

Taking a step back

When feeling anger or any other emotion, there is a temptation for it to control you. At some point in time after an emotional response like anger, our ability to reason begins to return. The quicker this happens, the better. Hence, one of the most powerful ways of managing anger is to simply take a step back. Disengage. Pause and reflect. Doing so allows you to remove the stimulus and think about it in a more rational, logical way.

We could also think about this as “mindfulness” or being self-aware. The key is to not let your anger take you on a ride; you want to stop the ride in its tracks until you’ve had time to reflect.

Changing our perspective

As was discussed at the beginning of this article, it is our judgments that cause anger. Therefore, we can reframe our judgments by viewing the situation from a different angle. For example, if you feel angry while stuck in traffic on your way to work, reframe the situation by considering how lucky you are to have a vehicle, have a job, are not in the middle of a warzone, etc. This is the practice of gratitude, and it can always be used to change our perspective from resentment to grace.

Practice understanding others

Empathy is a powerful tool that can be used to help us understand our fellow human beings. It is easy to judge others when we are not in their shoes. Stoicism encourages you to consider yourself as a brother or sister to those around you, and to try your best to understand them.

Drawing on a previous example, if you are angry because someone cut you off on the highway, consider how much you don’t know about the person that you are angry at. Perhaps they just moved to this city or country. Maybe they grew up in poverty and were only recently able to get their driver’s license and a vehicle. There is often so much that we do not know about others, and Stoicism encourages you to humbly accept that and not be angry at them.

Practicing gratitude

Gratitude was touched on earlier, but it is such a powerful tool that it warrants its own section. Gratitude is the practice of appreciating the things that you already have. Often, we become angry when we do not get what we want in life. Working hard and acting appropriately in the world doesn’t always guarantee that life will give us everything we want, which can tempt us to anger.

Gratitude flips the script and asks you to stop focusing on what you want but rather to consider what you already have that you are failing to appreciate. Consider how much of what you have right now are things that you previously wanted and bask in that positive emotion.

Closing remarks

As much as it is true that the Stoics deemed anger a very toxic emotion, they also understood that we are all human beings trying our best to move forward in the world. Managing anger takes discipline, awareness, and a strong willingness, but the benefits of being in control of your emotions, like anger, are tremendous. Embrace the responsibility and reap the benefits

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