Why you should SHOW your Anger

Once upon a time, in a deep forest lived a venomous snake.  

He loved the power of his poison and used to bite anyone who came in his way.  He poured his venom at the slightest provocation and everybody in the jungle was afraid of him.  He could get away with anything and laughed at other animals in the jungle who scurried away when they saw the snake coming towards them. No one ever dared to disobey him and he gloated over his ability to rule the jungle.

One day, a saint was passing through the forest. He had heard about the angry snake.  The saint deliberately took the path which would cross the place where the snake lived.  Hearing the unknown footsteps of the saint, the snake came out of his den and stood in front of him with his big poisonous hood, ready to strike.

“Who dares to cross this path without my permission? Don’t you know I am the ruler here ?”

“I am a saint and this jungle is not your property. Pray, tell me, why are you always angry ?”

“Well, I have power !  Everybody bows to me. If I am not angry, people will not listen to me !”

The saint sat down beside the snake .

“Dear Snake, do you realize the amount of sins that you are accumulating by biting innocent people? What will you answer to God when you die ? “

The conversation with the saint transformed the snake. He promised to the hermit that he will never bite anyone from that day.  

After a few months, the sage was passing thru the jungle again and he was surprised to see the snake lying on the ground. He was wounded all over and in a pitiable state.

“Oh !  What happened to you ? Who hurt you ? “

“I had promised to you that I will not bite anyone. Slowly the word spread in the jungle and the people who used to respect and fear me and listened to whatever I said started ignoring me. After some time, anyone who passed this way pelted stones at me. And nowadays they jeer and trample over me.  This is the outcome of my promise to you.  I am powerless without my anger “.   The snake wept.

“I asked you not to bite and get angry, but who stopped you from SHOWING your anger? Did I ask you not to “HISS” ?  “

It is very common for the people at the top of the hierarchy to become tyrants and get their work done with the help of their positional power. They feel that if they have to control their team, they have to be autocratic else people will take them for granted, just like the angry snake.  This really does not work very well in the modern work scenario.  Nowadays the team wants a leader whom they can respect and love. Though this is true, sometimes, the managers and the leaders are taken for granted and then the managers lose control of their team. It is important for the managers to strike a balance.   Anger is a tool to manage.

Anger should be used as a useful weapon to be used in certain situations but you should be able to CONTROL your anger ….. Anger should not control you ! 

So, sometimes, when you think it is appropriate, SHOW your anger and “HISS” to control unwanted situations and avoid getting trampled by team members who act oversmart.

Note : This story is by a famous saint from India – Ramkrishna Paramhansa.