Why You Should Seek Solitude When You Are Angry
Welcome back to Mid-Week Meditations , Lifehacker’s weekly dive into the pool of stoic wisdom and how you can use its waters to meditate and improve your life.
This week’s choice is made by Plutarch in his De Cohibenda Ira , or Anger Control. He has some helpful advice when you are angry:
“Therefore, the best way out for us is to calm down or run away, hide and drop anchor in a calm harbor, as if we felt the approach of an epileptic seizure, so as not to fall or fall. rather it cannot fall on others; and we are especially prone to attack our friends most often. ” – De Cohibend Ira
What does it mean
When you lose your temper and feel anger take over your mind, you must find a way to calm yourself. According to Plutarch, the best way to do this is to get away from the person, place, or thing that makes you angry and spend some time alone. This way, the anger will subside and you can deal with the situation with a clear head.
If you fail to leave, you risk being stupid and losing face. You can also vent your anger on those who don’t deserve it, or worse, you heal it on friends and family who are only looking to comfort you.
What to take from there
Plutarch’s advice is simple and straightforward, but effective. The next time you feel like your fuse has blown, don’t let it explode, don’t make any hasty decisions, and don’t try to count to ten in the hope that things will cool off so quickly. Just go away.
Find a place where you can be alone and let your rage subside. Find your own safe haven where you can rise from the anchor and take control of your emotions. Once you’ve calmed down a bit, think about the situation and your actions. What exactly made you angry? Is your anger justified? What can you do to avoid the same situation in the future? Once you calm your rage, return to the world and spend the rest of the day clear-headed.
You can read Plutarch’s entire book ” De Cohibenda Ira” for free here .