Happiness is often seen as the ideal state of being, and many people consider pursuing happiness a major life goal. Happiness is associated with a number of positive outcomes, including better mental and physical health, stronger social relationships, and greater success in life.
Researchers suggest that if you want to achieve your goals – ‘Get Angry’!
A recent study suggests that anger, although commonly viewed as a negative emotion, can be a potent driving force that propels individuals to accomplish formidable objectives in their lives.
In order to gain a deeper insight into the impact of anger on goal achievement, scientists from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University conducted a series of experiments involving over 1,000 participants. They also analyzed survey data from more than 1,400 respondents.
In each experiment, participants were induced to experience various emotions, including anger, amusement, desire, or sadness, or were maintained in a neutral emotional state. Subsequently, the researchers presented them with challenging goals to assess their reactions.
Anger’s Surprising Benefits in Goal Achievement Experiments
In a series of experiments, researchers induced various emotions, including anger, and had participants engage in tasks like solving word puzzles or playing skiing video games. They found that anger consistently improved individuals’ ability to achieve their goals in challenging scenarios, resulting in higher scores or quicker responses in some cases. However, in one experiment, anger also led to increased cheating to attain better outcomes.
The findings indicate that emotions typically perceived as negative, such as anger, boredom, or sadness, can be useful.
