Is Intensity a Way Out?

I’m often advocating away from intensity for intensity’s sake. Chances are if you and I are in a conversation, you don’t need to be told that hard work is important. In fact, most hard chargers like yourself need to work smarter; not harder. 

That said, I was just reading an incredible book the other day that made reference to the old anger management tactic of punching a pillow to get the frustration out. The author more or less said that you should try it for five minutes and go all out. He then mentioned how surprisingly hard it is to go the whole five minutes. 

Are we suffering from half-measured feelings?

I read that and realized there’s plenty that I would argue I could be upset about for much longer than five minutes. Yet, at full intensity, it would be difficult to stay angry for a full five minutes. What that must mean is that it’s both dangerous and ineffective to experience mild low level anger that endures for days, weeks, and years that wouldn’t survive five minutes at intensity.

I realize we aren’t five minutes of pillow-punching away from eternal peace, but the metaphor is strong. Maybe a better way to be upset, jealous, or sad is to do it all the way. Feel every ounce of it. Complete the feeling until it has been wrung dry. If you’re going to suffer, do it completely and swiftly.