UNITED STATES—We all cannot be happy 24 hours a day. There are just those moments where something transpires that makes the blood boil or irritates you to the core. So what do you do in those heated moments to ensure that you don’t lose your cool and do or say something that can be detrimental to your reputation? I’d make the argument that most of us tend to walk away. However, what transpires when a walk doesn’t cool you down?

I think there are a bevy of other techniques that can be used to calm that temper as well. For one, I’ve recently started using a stress ball. Yes, I know that sounds completely hilarious, but it works for me people. I mean it totally works. Just the other day I was so stressed out from work that I thought I was about to quit. I took a few deep breathes grabbed my stress ball and within 30 minutes I was able to calm myself down.

However, the stress ball doesn’t always work. So if you find yourself still edgy, it’s important to have another alternative in place. Perhaps you can listen to a bit of music. Rather its calming music, energetic or somber, the soundwaves of music does tend to relax the mind and take those frustrations that you’re grappling with and places them on the backburner.

For others, physically getting that frustration out through a bit of aggression might work. Hitting a punching bag, if you don’t have a punching bag, perhaps try utilizing a pillow as a punching bag will work as a substitute. If you have to physically unleash your frustrations just ensure you’re not striking a human being, animal or another person’s property. I wouldn’t recommend this alternative, but for some I understand it can be therapeutic, so go for it.

There are other methods to be utilized to tame a temper. The methods discussed above are to give someone options to release frustrations that don’t require too much thought. However, you can turn frustration into something productive people. When I’m very tense, the one thing that really allows me to tame my temper is reading or writing. When I read, my mind becomes focused on something else, for a few minutes I get a distraction that allows me to totally forget why I was frustrated in the first place.

Now, writing, I find therapeutic because I’m doing something constructive with my time. I’m not only venting how I feel on paper or on the computer, I can channel whatever negative energy that may be bugging me into something positive that can work in my advantage later down the line. I mean I’m an aspiring screenwriter; your life is the perfect script sometimes! For those who are good with their hands, draw a picture, sculpt a piece of art or design something you’d like to build at a later point.

Do you see where I’m going here? There is always an alternative than just yelling expletives. However, that sometimes is a perfect substitute instead of wanting to punch someone in the face. Would I recommend it? No, but if it works for you, it works, just be aware of the people around you when you chose to scream, shout or yell. I mean you don’t want someone calling the cops on you.

Some people have tempers that are far worse than others, however, I suspect we all have a temper, being able to control and tame that edgy side of us when things don’t go our way is important.