So, this will be my first AMA. Many of you are wondering what finally prompted me to do one. It’s been a long time coming. I’d been hesitant. I don’t have a social media presence. I haven’t created any actual content, so there’s no one to ask any questions and nothing to ask about.

These can be seen as significant obstacles. They’re good reasons why an AMA makes no sense. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to push on. I’m not going to be silenced by my detractors, real or imagined. My assumption is that, if I did in fact have an online presence, I could have many detractors. Alternatively, there could be a single irate detractor if I had published some content. You can see why it would be important to handle any concerns raised.

Question 2: Are you still angry?

Well, we got to the heart of the matter pretty quickly! The short answer is Yes. The long answer is also Yes. I am working on it though.

Question 3: What does working on it mean?

Another great question and again, I want to express my appreciation to you for taking the time to send it. One would think that “working on it” suggests trying to reduce anger and negative emotions in general. That is, to reduce both the frequency and intensity of so called negative emotions. That’s only half the story though.

Reducing anger and being less under the sway of negative emotions comes with any number of positive health benefits. These are widely documented so I won’t go into them here. But, an often overlooked benefit of being angry, of reacting to everything as if it’s personally directed at you, of feeling righteous indignation, is that it provides a real buzz and boost to the ego. I’m sure you’ll agree then that simply focusing on reduction is like looking at a painting with one eye closed. Sure, you can still see the whole painting, but one of your eyes is closed.

Question 4: What are you angry about?

I’m not sure I have an answer to that. At least not one that serves any useful purpose, but I’ll try.

Everything and nothing at the same time. That just about covers it.

Question 5: Really though, what does working on it mean?

It occurred to me that I’m essentially on auto-pilot most of the time. Either lost in thought or reacting to situations in ways I later feel embarrassed about. My approach to trying to understand my own mind is two pronged:

1. Practice Mindfulness, and
2. Incorporate Stoic Practices into daily life.

Both of the above are easier said than done (at least for me).

Next time: Where is the self and what on earth does having no head mean?

1. Me. ↩︎
2. Technically zero if not counting me as the source. ↩︎
3. See #2. ↩︎
4. Me again. ↩︎