In the 1970s, psychologist Paul Eckman defined six basic emotions of which he believed all other emotions were a combination. He theorized that these six emotions — happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise — serve as crucial building blocks for all the other feelings we experience every day.
For example, anger can give way to strong emotions that trigger our fight-or-flight response, and it can also be channeled into motivation and passion. Anger is a successful motivator because it causes people to process perceived obstacles quickly. It prepares them to decide whether to meet their goal or flee from it, which results from the neural activation of the fight-or-flight area of the brain.
In an attempt to address the commonly-held belief that people should regulate their anger, researchers at Texas A&M University observed how anger affected participants’ abilities to complete different tasks. They found that participants who experienced angry emotions before the test, rather than neutral or happy emotions, completed more tasks.
The study revealed that anger, directed at the task at hand or at an individual’s satisfaction with their performance, motivates people to take action. By channeling a single negative feeling — anger — to produce a satisfying outcome, an individual could experience fewer negative feelings overall. The resulting satisfaction the participants experienced for succeeding in their tasks is significant; people tend to overemphasize the importance of positivity as the key to success, even though anger can produce the same results.
A balance of emotions is the healthiest option — avoiding anger to appear “positive” disturbs this complex necessity. So, rather than constantly trying to feel happy or neutral, take advantage of angry emotions when they materialize.
Repurposing anger takes different shapes for everybody. For example, when I begin to feel angry, I channel the emotion into my writing. It helps me think of ideas, outline and ultimately plan essays with a specific focus in mind. Artists may express the emotion on a canvas, while others like to physically expel the emotion and release tension by going for a run or heading to the gym.
Many people are hesitant to embrace anger due to its negative perception and its potential to cause health problems if experienced frequently. The release of stress hormones affects the heart, disrupts functions of the gut and amplifies some mental health issues. But its potential harm could be greatly reduced, such as when anger is channeled into more positive feelings like passion. When we feel productive, we feel good — thus, our body releases less stress hormones and instead boosts levels of serotonin, dopamine and endorphins.
The wide range of curriculum and experiences a student encounters in college leaves room for experiencing failure. The most common way students can take anger and turn it into passion is when they fail to achieve a goal. For instance, if you score poorly on a test you studied for, the best outcome would be to utilize your frustration to strategize and study for the next exam.
According to a 2024 Gallup survey, two in five undergraduate students experience some form of emotional distress in their lives — ranging between anger and sadness. Feeling negative emotions can be frustrating, but this is why a mindset shift is necessary. Rather than giving up or forcing themselves to be toxically optimistic, students should allow themselves to feel their otherwise uncomfortable emotions. From there, students can channel those emotions into feelings of motivation and passion.
Treat anger as a building block. It may give way to feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction at first, but repurposing that experience can lead to more positive feelings. The next time you’re angry, allow yourself to confront the cause — the outcome could be an essay you’re proud of, a new personal record in the gym or another success you have been hoping to achieve.
Giselle Sesi is an Opinion Analyst who writes about the human condition. She can be reached at gigisesi@umich.edu.
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