November 6th 2023.
Science is finally backing it up – a 'hulk mode' mindset might just be the answer to unlocking your potential at work. According to a study from the American Psychological Association, it appears that short-term anger could actually be a powerful motivator for being productive and achieving our goals.
This is great news for women, who are often made to feel that they cannot be 'emotional' in the workplace. As Nicola Kemp, lead facilitator at Good Shout, points out: 'Women walk a tight-rope at work, with a pendulum swinging regularly from “too cold” to “too emotional”, where anger is the ultimate criticism.'
Not only does this show that anger can have a positive effect, but it can also be a tool for innovation and creativity. As life coach Natale Trice explains, anger is a signal from the body that we need to act on something; whether it's someone stealing your milk, someone always being late for meetings, or someone taking credit for your work.
Rather than letting anger lead to explosive outbursts, Natalie advises to use the surge of anger as a superpower for success. It's all about letting the anger work for you, not against you.
Nicola also urges not to be afraid of anger when we experience it. She says: 'The challenge, particularly for women in the workplace, is that we are hard-wired to go into “flight or fight” mode rather than recognise our own anger is natural. That fear stops us from having uncomfortable conversations, which could ultimately help move us forward and stop wasting our time or energy on certain things.'
At the end of the day, it's important for women to speak when they're angry – even if their voice shakes – as Maggie Kuhn said: “Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind – even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants.”
However, it's worth noting that this only applies to short-term anger. Too much or prolonged exposure to activation would be detrimental to cognitive/adaptive functioning.
So, while anger may motivate short-term goals, long-term frustrations are not likely to have the same impact. All in all, it appears that science is now showing that anger could be the best fuel for motivation to succeed.
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[Generative AI is experimental.]
