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GRRRRRRRRRR…

Nothing gets in the way of financial success more than repressed anger.

In my experience, women in general hold a tremendous amount of unexpressed anger, though few realize it.

I certainly did but had no idea.  Until a therapist pointed out that I was carrying a lot of repressed rage, which was holding me hostage, unable to move forward.

As I worked on discharging my wrath, I had a revelation. Anger is simply energy. Repressed anger immobilizes. Released anger galvanizes.

When you find healthy ways to let go of resentment, you begin to notice a direct link between anger and power. Suppressing one inhibits expressing the other.

If you suspect you, too, may have some buried anger, I invite you to write an angry letter. Write it to your parents or ex-husband or maybe yourself. Write it by hand, not on a computer.

When you’re finished, burn the letter. As you watch it burn, say to your anger: “Thank you. You served me once. I no longer need you. I release you. Now I am free.”

Or try physically moving it out of your body. Slap the wall hard with a towel. Go outside and vigorously hurl ice cubes at the street. Dance out your anger to heavy metal music.

What if you’ve done anger releasing exercises ad nauseum, and damn it, you’re still angry?

Ask yourself this question: What is my payoff for holding onto angerWhy don’t I want to let it go?

Believe me, the anger is giving you something. Usually, it’s a false or cheap sense of power, invulnerability, and autonomy.

When you finally free yourself, something incredible happens. You can forgive and move on. Then watch how much lighter you feel and how much easier life becomes.

What payoff do you think you’re getting from your anger? Tell me in the comments below.

Comments & Feedback

  • Maike Balzer

    I get protection from my anger!

    • barbara huson

      I hope you realize, Maike, that anger is false protection. As the saying goes, holding on to anger is like swallowing poison and expecting the other to die! I genuinely hope you can get past it.

  • Susan

    Thanks for the question, Barbara. I held on to anger, both repressed and conscious, for many years when I was a younger adult. Yet owing to therapy, and much life experience, I believe that I’ve let most of it go. As we age, we find that we do not have endless energy for all the emotions that once pulsed through our minds and bodies. And the further away we become from the events that made us angry earlier in life, the easier it is to let the anger fade away, to replace it with positive emotions arising from events in the present. Do you agree?

    • barbara huson

      You sound very wise, Susan. I totally agree!! But I know I needed therapy to fully release my anger…and I feel so much lighter without it.

  • Lisa

    Interesting, back in the day, a therapist once pointed out that I have a fear of showing anger or feeling angry. That anger felt unsafe to me. I think she wanted me to lose my shit a bit more often 🙂

    I liked the word you used “invulnerability” and “lighter”. I’ve been taught that usually, underneath the anger is a more vulnerable emotion. When someone is feeling anger towards me, I would prefer it if they got in touch with what they’re really feeling. Often it’s not about anger at all, it’s about a wish or a request or they feel embarrassed about something they did or said. Instead of apologizing, they gaslight, blame the other person, backpedal or try to use anger to dominate the other person into submission so that the other person loses their autonomy. Tapping into what I feel under the anger is more healthy and I do feel lighter.

    Occasionally, I’ll remember something that made me feel angry just like I remember something that once made me feel very happy. I think the only payoff thinking about the anger is “lesson learned”, “awareness” or a “gee, I hope I NEVER do anything like that to anyone else, because that felt so crappy”! Now, I sometimes feel some forgiveness towards the other person who triggered my anger. In hindsight, I can see that a person was involved in a very emotional and financial complex situation and it changed them!

    Also, I think the payoff for any anger I occasionally still feel helps me to not to romanticize a situation. For example, I wouldn’t want to always remember a relationship or friendship like something out the movie Beaches. Besties for the resties during every chapter of our lives. No, I would also want to think of it like the Bodyguard. Whitney Houston though her sister was her biggest supporter, but she was really conspiring to kill her(LOVE that movie!). Okay, maybe not that extreme, but maybe that ex friend got dropping delight knowing you made a mistake or there was trouble in paradise in your relationship, because it soothed their inferiority complex. If you were friends today, they would be secretly competing with you all the time. Who has the better life, who has the better relationship, who is having the better Christmas. It wouldn’t be an authentic friendship.

    • barbara huson

      I like what you wrote Lisa. But why get angry at bad relationship, when it’s far healthier and more peaceful just to leave, to remover yourself. And then explore why you attracted that. It’s never only the other…it’s always a two way street. I use it to look at what they are mirroring in me. Holding onto anger never serves us. Far better to get it out and release it. Thanks for your comments.

      • Lisa

        Hi Barbara,

        I removed myself from these people 100 years ago when things started to feel disrespectful and started to stink! In hindsight, with one of the friendships, I feel I was a little bit too needy and I over shared about something I shouldn’t have. This is something important I need to be aware of when I’m making new friends.

        For me personally, I occasionally (in small doses) now LOVE my anger! It triggers my brain that something is off and stops people from treating me like a doormat and makes me feel that I have some backbone!

        However, what I’ve been taught NOT to do is lash out at someone with my primitive reactive brain, I need to step back and use my observant brain to analyze what really bothered me and twist it into a sweet request. I’ve also been taught to deal with things in real time as it happens, not dredge things up from 10 years later.

        From other sources I’ve read, codependency and self victimization are the biggest blocks for financial success. Ever had that friend who plays the violin 🎻 and blames her crappy childhood, credit card companies, inflation,ex boyfriend named Steve, the Californian government and family responsibilities for her financial mess? Everyone but herself?

        • barbara huson

          Really good awareness, Lisa. Anger is a positive human emotion when expressed in a healthy and timely fashion but turns toxic when repressed. The two biggest factors I found in blocking smart women from reaching financial success is unhealed trauma and suppressed anger. I’d say you’re doing great!!!

  • Melon

    What is the payoff of staying angry?
    It’s justification for not moving forward until it’s resolved. At least that’s what I tell myself. It’s a way to stay still, to not take a step, to not dare, to stay comfortable. Hmm, sounds like BS.

    I’m getting this insight due to the work of looking at being an underearner and grappling with how I got there. It’s exciting. I AM GRATEFUL!

    • barbara huson

      Oh Melon, you’re doing such great work!! I love how you spotted your BS! Big round of applause!!!!

  • barbara huson

    Great insights Melon. Anger released is healthy. Holding on to anger stresses our system and can cause disease. I’m thrilled you’re exploring the source of your anger…I really hope you’re able to release it soon!!! It will be a game changer when you do!

Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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