Release the Rage Kraken: Tips to help Freelancers Simmer Down

After spending over a decade in retail, rage is one thing I am very acquainted with. Like a warm blanket, rage was always there to snuggle up to after a particularly trying day of work.

Imagine my surprise when doctors reveled that rage can actually be harmful for you? Such a silly notion I thought. Not my good friend rage. He’s always taken such good care of me.

Turns out that those beautiful outbursts of anger can actually make you three times more likely to have a heart attack! Now while ‘attack’ is a cool word, when it’s combined with ‘heart’ it loses some of its appeal. Similar to the way ‘explosive’ and ‘diarrhea’ don’t go well together.

Freelancers and Rage

As freelancers we are the front line of our business. That means, when a client is behaving badly, you’re the one who has to deal with it.

You know the saying about crap and gradually slopped hills? Well freelancers reside in position 0,0 as far as crap and hills are concerned.

So with nowhere to run when things hit the fan, freelancers have plenty of opportunity to get upset. So what do you do when you feel the blood pressure rising? Fortunately I’m here to help you simmer down with my series of tips of how to successfully release the rage Kraken.

Get all Rocky on your rage

One thing I’ve noticed from my frequent outburst of anger is that your first thought almost always turns to hitting something. Be it a wall or a chair or 1983 Chevy Chevette, you’re going to feel like giving it a smack. Trust me when I say – don’t do it.

Walls have always been my nemesis. On initial inspection they seem to be a delightful thing to punch. One can image the satisfaction that will come from smashing a hole through the easily repaired drywall. However, there is one very special feature of houses that we tend to overlook.

Studs.

It turns out when you build a wall you need to periodically place a wooden stud in it so that the wall is sturdy enough to bear some weight and keep its form. Kind of like the bones in our body or the knuckles in your broken hand.

Wall studs are often made using 2×4 or 2×6 lumber and are spaced out every 16 inches or so. So while you would think your chances of hitting a stud when you punch a wall would be pretty low, the reality is, your chances are exactly 100%.

And there’s nothing worse than a wall that hits back.

So while you think it is going to be a very satisfying way to let off some steam, punching a hole through a wall only ends up with a lot of rolling on the floor and whole lot of moaning.

The good news is, your rage will now be completely gone!

Photo Credit: Rick/Flickr

Because there’s no time to waste on anger when you’re worried about people seeing a grown man with crocodile tears streaming down his face.

So while going all Balboa on the drywall is never a good idea, at least it distracts you enough for you to forget what you were mad about in the first place.

In our next issue we’re going to talk about a much better thing to punch – the mysterious heavy bag.