Pavlo Phitides considers converting anger into positive energy and overcoming a feeling of personal attack when external circumstances impede our ability to do business.
Considering how high the stakes are for the business owner, it’s perfectly natural to get angry. But there is a risk. Anger, if not well directed, can turn in on you. If suppressed, it acts against you. It needs to be ventilated. But how do you do this and remain positive in thought and action? It needs both. Thought can turn into a prayer, dream or fantasy. That’s yielded little for most. Action is the difference. This is not a new idea. It’s been written about before because it’s part of the human
condition and wise people, desirous of finding answers to a good life, one well lived, have done some hard work on it.
Three Conditions Of The Human Psyche
The Hindu, Upanishad scriptures are a good example. They talk to three conditions in the human psyche: Rajas, Tamas and Satwa. The scriptures speak to the three states of mind which make for a good life. Rajas is a state of high energy. Positively, it’s vital for getting things started and done in a business. Negatively, it starts fights and creates destruction.
Tamas is a state of low energy. Positively, it’s vital to help you get to sleep. Negatively, it can find you brooding over an injustice and can slip you into a depressed state. Satwa is a state of bliss. It’s the balance between Rajas and Tamas.
It’s similar to the Tao found in the Ying Yang symbol. It’s also about balance.
This text dates back to 400 BC and forms the cornerstone of Taoism. It’s represented by a circle divided in two halves by an S-shaped line. One half is 90% black with a white dot. The other half is 90% white with a black dot. The black represents dark energy; the white, good energy.
In all dark energy, there is some good and vice versa. The Tao, the S-shaped line passing through the middle of the circle, represents the right way. It’s about equilibrium. What’s interesting is you need dark and light opposing energies to find your bliss or equilibrium.
How do we use this approach to be angry but remain positive? To illustrate this, I’d like to use the example of a fight. In Kung Fu, a critical part of learning the art is to put it into practice. This means sparring or competing through fighting. It takes place in a circular ring with red and yellow lines on the outside. To win, you need to either knock your opponent down or out. Alternatively, you need to win on points which are earned when your opponent steps onto, or over, these lines.
When you step into the ring and face an angry opponent, it can be frightening and you face one of three options: get angry
yourself; give up; or get angry and breathe to calm your mind to find the balance between anger and calm.
Driven By Anger
Anger drives impulse. It’s energy. It’s all rajas and if not controlled, feeds on itself and deepens the crisis. Your opponent throws a big punch, you respond, they respond, you respond, and the fight turns into a brawl with a winner and a loser. It’s a fight that sees the one with the greatest power, win.
Giving Up
Suppressing anger is tantamount to giving up. Repressed anger drives depression and destroys confidence and joie de vivre. It makes you despondent and anything you have achieved before it rusts, risking you living as a mistake and dying as a relief.
Turn Anger Into Positive Inspiration
The energy of anger, as you embrace it, holds tremendous power. It seeds inspiration and action, both of which will most likely see you in service of something greater than yourself. The anger I experienced in seeing my family fail in business has led to Aurik which has helped thousands of business owners. I have meaning through service and belief in the
future as every day I witness businesses thrive in a no-growth economy. Well directed, it creates – through action – the remedy to your source and reason for the anger. A life lived outside of creating something is a life wasted.
Be angry. It’s deserved. Use some of this ancient wisdom left to us by our forefathers; direct it into your business. Consume anger and turn its energy and drive into a positive outcome for your business, your staff, customers and suppliers. What other choice do you have… the clock ticks and time runs out. Make the days count.
About Pavlo
Pavlo Phitidis has over 25 years’ experience investing in, starting, building and selling businesses. He is the co-founder of Aurik Investment Holdings business growth services. Pavlo’s book, Sweat Scale $ell, offers business owners practical insights to implement in their own businesses, to drive growth and deepen value.
