photo credit: Mike Fitzgerald via photopin cc
We’ve all done it. Gotten angry at how a game went, how the score turned out, how the ref missed a penalty or our own teammates. Getting angry can be healthy way to let off some steam—but to a point. Here are some healthy ways to be pissed off so you won’t lose your head.
Let it Out
Go ahead and say it out loud, but to yourself. Never direct your anger towards someone like a fellow teammate or coach (or even yourself). Verbal abuse is just as dangerous as punching the wall. It stings like hell and could leave scars that last a lifetime. If you can control what you say, share it, but if you can’t you are better off standing in the mirror yelling at yourself.
Sit on it, then let it go
Give yourself exactly 1 hour to let the angry juices stew in your head. Then, MOVE ON. It isn’t healthy to carry your anger around longer than that. Like a virus, the longer it stews, the faster it will spread to every healthy cell in your body and mutate you into a raging contagion that infects all around you. In derby, we used to have a saying on my team that each jam was a new chance to get it right. Treat every misstep as a mistake in the past and leave it there, so that you can move forward with a fresh start.
Reflect and Repurpose
Now that you’ve let go of your anger, go ahead and look back to learn from what happened. Review footage. Go over it in your head. Take a minute to talk to your coach and get some constructive criticism. But do so with the intent of using it as a lesson learned. Find what made you angry in the first place and figure out how to approach the problem again with a clear head. We only get better with experience, so take each lesson and use it in the future as a way to avoid getting yourself into tempermental situations that you can’t get out of. And remember the part about looking in the mirror? This time, try not to Liz Lemon yourself and say something you did right.