Anger on Richard Cloutier Radio

Rod Minaker and I were with Richard Cloutier on Thursday at CJOB talking about anger…he wanted to talk about the perception that anger is “bad”…which is understandable, given that most of our most memorable stick-to-the-ribs recollections of anger were scary and not something we’d want to repeat.

We talked about anger as information that is a natural part of our experience as humans…and it gives energy to do something about that information.

The challenge is to harness it: just like a horse can be wild and dangerous or harnessed to pull a plow or herd cattle, or a fire can burn a house/forest/business or be contained in a pit to create heat and cook supper…anger needs to be harnessed to work for you, not against you. Too often, anger hijacks a person, frightens others, and mispresents the person…he may get what he wanted in the immediate moment, but do damage to the relationship, and not ultimately receive the respect he desires.

Conversely, a person may deny all anger, believing anger is not acceptable, and in so doing, set themselves up to be hurt and have offensive things reoccur again and again…(which increases the intensity of the ignored inner burn).

So…given that this is a topic Rod and I are passionate about, it was great to share it on air with Richard and his listeners. Ryan, a caller, spoke of his ongoing adventure of anger…how it was what he grew up with and knew in his home…how it got him into trouble and he spent time in prison…how he went to anger management numerous times…but it took the perspective of realizing what kind of dad he wanted to be, and what he wanted for his kids that had him decide to make a fresh start. He says he’s still working on it, and sees it as a lifelong challenge to deal effectively with his anger.

I really admired his take on the whole thing…wisdom gained through life experience.

It was cool to see the inside workings of a radio station…my first time…the smooth coordinated ballet between the tech guy, the news guy, and the talk guy. As a person who is curious about all sorts of things, to watch the way they worked together was pretty cool.

What was an added bonus was on Thursday, the day we were on, Garth Buchko, the General Manager of CJOB was named as CEO of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It was clearly a big day for the station…they were buzzingly excited for the opportunity Mr. Buchko has been given, and the clear affirmation of the man he is…mixed with reluctance to see him go because of how he has been a great boss to them.

We were sitting with the guys during the live news conference at Blue Bomber headquarters as the formal announcement was made…kinda cool to witness this important piece of CJOB up close and personal.

There is a short clip of “5 Top Tips” that Rod and I gave at the end of our hour which was posted…have a listen!

And if you desire to look further into how you more effectively harness your anger, consider enrolling in our Transforming Destructive into Constructive: Anger Management Course…the group course is offered over two Tuesday evenings, once a month. We’d love to have you join us!

The group course is fun and informative, but if there are reasons you’d prefer the TDC course one-on-one, covering the same material with a therapist, Nadia Sawaya or Roshonna Plett can have some great conversations with you! Send us an email if you have questions…we’d love to continue the conversation about anger with you!