Why Are We So Angry?

I’ve noticed it. You’ve probably felt it.

People seem angrier than ever before. Road rage, online rants, short fuses, simmering frustration and emotional outbursts that feel out of character.

So, what happened?

The answer, in part, lies in the 2020 lockdowns:

We were isolated.

Our brains were flooded with stress hormones.

We lost connection, control, and certainty.

According to recent neuroscience, the amygdala, our brain’s threat detector, was on high alert for months.

The prefrontal cortex, which helps us regulate emotions, was overwhelmed. And the brain stem, our hard-wired survival centre, took over. We were wired for threat.

And when that wiring stays active for too long, it changes us.

We become more reactive, less patient and more prone to anger.

But here’s the good news:

The brain is plastic - it can change and adapt.

Emotions can be unlearned.

Connection can heal.

If you are feeling more irritable than usual, know that you’re not alone and you are not broken.

You are responding to an extraordinary time in history.

Let’s talk!

We All Care!

"Who cares if one more light goes out in a sky of a million stars?"

Powerful lyrics in the song One More Light by Linkin Park.

When we are in pain, it can feel like our light is fading. Like no one notices and no one cares.

We convince ourselves that our struggles are too heavy, too personal, too much for others to carry.

The disconnection becomes a wall - thick, silent, and dark.

In our work, we have seen how powerful it is when someone finds the courage to speak. To let someone in and say, “I’m not doing so well.”

Because there are people who care, and people who will sit with you in the dark.

People who won’t try to fix you, they simply want to be there for you.

It starts with a conversation. And in that moment of connection, the healing begins.

So, if you are hurting, please know that:
❤️‍🩹 You are not invisible.
❤️‍🩹 You are not a burden.
❤️‍🩹 You are not alone.

Who cares? We all do. You just have to let people in.

It will take a bit of courage, yet you have already shown courage by working through your pain - so you know courage well.

One step, one short sentence, one massive leap for your recovery.

There is a reason we always end our posts with two simple words – because it works.

Let’s talk!

Managing Customers!

Some people just like to argue, regardless of what you tell them.

There are several ways to manage this type of person. The best way I have found is to make it all about them, more than you would with others. Use sentences like "You make a great point" or "I can see where you are coming from."

The difficulty arises when you can't actually help them. For example, company policy means you can't do what the customer is asking of you.

Honesty is the best policy but with an explanation as to why. I call it 'the reason for the reason'.

Policies are developed for two reasons;
- To protect the company
- To protect the customer

Often we will say, "I'm sorry but I can't do what you are asking because it is our company policy". You know what the customer hears when we say this - "We have rules for situations like this and I can't change them".

Try explaining to the customer why the policies are in place, to protect them.

Something like, "Lance, I apologise that I cannot do any more for you. We value our customers and have policies in place which are designed to protect everyone".

Finish off the conversation by giving the customer something that they can take away, it need not be tangible although this would be more helpful. It could be as simple as “What I am going to do is to mention your situation to my supervisor as you raise a valid point”.

Always do what you say you are going to and don’t over-promise. Under-promise and over-deliver.

The bottom line, sometimes people will need a reality check!

Let's talk!

Majoritarianism!

Majoritarianism is the idea that the majority rules, but what happens to those left behind?

It can leave us with feelings of isolation, invisibility, frustration, resentment, and thus a lack of motivation.

Growing up with challenges in learning, no meaningful friendships and poor socialisation skills, I retain a small insight to how that can feel.

I often believed I didn’t belong!

I know I'm not the only one; many of us have felt that way for a variety of reasons.

Belonging happens when we feel truly seen, when we're accepted as we are, and not when we’re trying to match the expectations around us.

We live in a world that often celebrates the loudest, the strongest, the most popular.

But real strength lies in listening to the quiet voices, and the ones who have experienced adversity.

If you’ve ever felt like the minority – whether in thought, background, or belief - know this: your perspective matters.

A strong culture is one where every voice is heard and valued. That's when we all win.

Have you ever felt like the odd one out? What helped you find your place?

Let’s talk!

Do Tough Times Build Character?

We often hear that adversity builds character.

That may be so, yet why must lessons be so difficult to remember - we seem to repeat them.

And why is it that we must endure pain, loss, and struggle to truly develop?

It’s uncomfortable to admit, but growth rarely comes from comfort.

Our brain does not want to remember the comfortable because that is safe; it wants to remember the uncomfortable to keep us safe from harm.

Growth comes from being stretched, challenged, and sometimes broken.

I’ve seen it in crisis negotiations, in trauma recovery and in my own life working through depression.

The most profound transformation often commences in the darkest of places.

Lessons are not learned in our darkest moments; it is the start of our transformation.

When everything familiar falls away, we’re forced to confront who we really are. And that hurts!

Pain teaches empathy. Loss teaches gratitude. Struggle teaches resilience - how to cope with adversity.

However, I don’t believe tough times are meant to be. I don’t believe suffering is necessary; I believe it’s simply part of being human.

Yet when we do go through adversity, we tend to come out knowing.

Knowing what it was like, knowing the effort it took to get us through, knowing we are stronger than we thought we were.

Importantly, we now know how to avoid those situations again or manage them differently should we face them.

We can choose to let adversity harden us, or we can let it shape us into something stronger, wiser and more empathetic.

So, if you’re going through a tough time right now, know this: You’re not alone. You’re not broken. You’re becoming.

What’s one challenge that changed you for the better?

Let’s talk!