Anger is rarely the real issue.

It’s what’s underneath it:

• overwhelm
• fear
• feeling out of control

But when anger becomes the tone of a home, everyone adapts in unhealthy ways.

Here’s the shift:

Slow it down.

You may have noticed this. I have realllly slowed down. And in doing so, far less even tempted to be angry. With more margin comes more patience and peace. If you are on edge all the time and easily triggered to get angry, slowing down could really help you take more time to listen and be slower to speak;therefore, slower to become angry. It’s been the case for me. Just sayin.

“Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” – James 1:19

Even a few seconds of pause can change everything.

For the next few days, focus on pausing and thinking about what you are thinking about. If something sets you off, pause and notice how it made you feel. Instead of immediately trying to get rid of that feeling, sit with it for a moment and allow yourself to notice the feeling of fear or angst or sadness or defeat…whatever the feeling is beneath the anger. Then from there, think about your response before you say it. Run it in a millisecond through the filter of The Word and see if it passes the test to be spoken. Check yourself else someone else will and it will be far less fun. When you do this, you will set the tone in your home and surroundings for less anger and more joy! You will be able to let things roll off more easily like water off a duck’s back as my mom always encouraged me to aim for.

Try it today.

Adrienne