Welcome to week nine of sharing excerpts from the book, Fierce: A New Generation of Female Empowerment. This book is for those who have a desire to get the most out of life. Those who want to make positive change, but are not sure how to make it happen. It is for any age female who needs a reminder of how fierce they can be. It is for young women who will soon be out of high school and on their way to college or some other adventure. Share these posts with all the girls and women in your life. Let them know the book can be read for free online or that a soft cover book is available for sale at Bookemon.com. Enjoy!
Stress and Anger Management
Anger is a healthy emotion, but when you act out violently it becomes unhealthy. Everyone gets frustrated from time to time. Life is a journey of ups and downs. Our universe is not perfectly stable, but a continuing ebb and flow. It is easy to let frustration and stress control how we act, how we treat ourselves, and how we treat others. Violence can be expressed in an emotional or physical way. Only you can take control of your anger and choose not to lash out at other people. Take the time to think about what is upsetting you.
- What part of this situation is making me feel so angry?
- Is there another reason, maybe a previous situation that is causing me to react angrily right now?
- What peaceful actions can I take to change this situation?
YOU CAN’T ALWAYS CHANGE HOW YOU FEEL, BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE HOW YOU ACT! Even if you are pushed “too far” by a bully or a group of people what you choose to do is your responsibility.
When you feel angry try these tips to CALM DOWN
- Walk away from the situation.
- Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. Repeat this step until you feel calm.
- Talk to someone you trust. It can be a teacher, mentor, friend or family member.
- Count backwards to refocus your concentration. This will give you time to think of what to do next.
- Keep a journal and write how you are feeling. Keep track of what upset you and how you dealt with your anger.
An affirmation can help you control your emotions in a bad situation. When creating an affirmation use positive words that calm and give you peaceful images. Leave out negative words like “won’t” or “never” again. Replace those with words like always, yes, for and go. Create your own or use the affirmation below.
MY THOUGHTS ARE PEACEFUL THOUGHTS
MY WORDS ARE PEACEFUL WORDS
MY ACTIONS ARE PEACEFUL ACTIONS
You probably know about Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi, aka Mahatman Ghandi, a lawyer who in the early and mid 1900’s led a movement to gain independence from the British who ruled over India. Instead of using violence to gain independence he championed the idea of peaceful protest and passive resistance. He is often attributed for the famous quotes, “You must be the change you want to see in the world” and has inspired billions of oppressed people around the world. This is because while encouraging people to change can be successful; actually creating the change in each day of your life is what makes it happen. While he may be the most famous figure who used peace for change, he isn’t the only person in the world who has ended violence with peaceful methods.
One amazing woman who has been a force in ending the violence, poverty and destruction of civil war was Leymah Gbowee. She is a peace activist in Liberia(Africa) who became involved in ending the civil war that ravaged her country for years. When the first civil war broke out she was just 17 and upset at not being able to continue her education. Over the years she saw how women suffer the most during war. She realized that women needed to take action to end it.
She trained to be a trauma counselor, joined the Women In Peacebuilding Network and quickly became a strong leader who assembled a group of women working for peace in Liberia. Their efforts forced then president, Charles Taylor to attend peace talks and eventually ended the war. After that the women worked to elect a new president and the first female president, Ellen Sirleaf. Leymah is now the founder and executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network, a women focused, women led, NGO in Ghana working to promote women’s strategic participation and leadership in peace and security governance in Africa. You can learn more about her work at LeymahGbowee.com and in the documentary Pray The Devil Back to Hell. *(7)… COntinue reading at Bookemon.com
Individual Empowerment 