I don’t check the news first thing every morning anymore. In fact, I don’t do any social media (and only infrequently check my email) until I’ve completed a long morning to-do list that includes cleaning my bed, eating breakfast, taking my vitamins, getting some exercise, spending quality time with my kids, and writing down the tasks I want to complete that day.
This isn’t just so I can start my day with good habits—though that is a factor.
It’s not even that I want to avoid screen time first thing in the morning—though that’s not a bad idea either. The reason I avoid my computer and smartphone is to escape the feelings of hatred and irritation that used to pervade my mornings after reading yet another depressing political headline or witnessing the outpouring of pessimism on Facebook.
Being met with such negativity is not a good way to start the day. At 6 a.m., it felt like the entire globe was clenching their fists, and even though I didn’t lace up my own gloves, adrenaline rushed through me.
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In fact, the repercussions of the enrage-inducing clickbait lingered long after I had forgotten about it.
All through the day, I would feel irritable. Even when I knew I would later regret my eating choices, I would make them nonetheless. I’d lash out at my kids out of nowhere, catching myself off guard.
I couldn’t figure out what was making me feel so wrong until I decided to take a break from social media. It wasn’t that I was waking up on the wrong side of the bed every morning. It was because I had been scrolling on my iPhone before I had even completely awakened.
Even if you’re not furious anymore, getting the angry first thing in the morning might have a lot of consequences.
There are many things that might trigger off a fury in the morning, such as missing your alarm, browsing through the headlines, or sitting in rage-inducing traffic on your commute. You might take a big breath and get back to work, figuring that your bad emotions are gone, but the study reveals that residual anger can influence our decisions even after we’ve been provoked.
Even when we’ve moved on to a completely different work, leftover anger might affect our perspective, according to a Harvard study. Maybe you go to work and have to report on some less-than-stellar team project results.
If you’re still angry, you’re more likely to attack those around you than accept responsibility for your part. Because anger is the basic feeling of justice, we have a strong urge to punish people when we’re angry. However, being a bad team player isn’t the only disadvantage you’ll face.
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When we’re upset, we make risky decisions in a variety of ways, according to the study. We are overconfident and frequently take risks that we would not otherwise take. These spur-of-the-moment decisions can range from atypical health decisions to hasty online buying. With our decision-making, we become trigger happy.
So, even though your stomach will hate you later, the fact that you want that fast-food burrito right now is justified in your mind because it feels good. We don’t wait for strong logic to intervene because we don’t want our decisions to be called into question, even by ourselves. If you need to, use the unfollow button.
Take a break from Twitter for a bit. Of course, there’s no way to totally eliminate rage from your life. “Most people report being mild to moderately irritated ranging from multiple times a day to several times a week,” according to the Harvard study.
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Even my no-morning-media strategy doesn’t completely eliminate my fury; it only postpones it. So, how do we combat the energy of rage so that it does not ruin our day?
Obviously, we should begin by exposing ourselves to less enrage-inducing elements.
If you need to, use the unfollow button. Take a break from Twitter for a bit. It’s vital to limit our exposure to media that will make us angry, but when anger strikes unexpectedly, it’s a good idea to take a break before moving on to the next phase of your day.
Mindfulness meditation (which I myself practice) can be a game-changer in terms of preventing the long-term impacts of rage. While your emotional state is still unsteady, you can utilize an app like Headspace or simply bring focus to your breath for a minute or two. Returning to the present before moving forward can let you return to your day without becoming enraged.