“Evil twins: Anger & Worry“

Tuesday, 21 April 2026 – 2:09 pm (Sydney)

The mind is a powerful thing. Emotions can disrupt its power.

Be careful because the mind’s power goes both ways. The mind has the incredible power to create, to envision, to materialise our dreams. However, the mind also has the power to cripple, to paralyze.

At every stage of our endeavours, whether we are firefighting or problem solving, stabilising our habits or simply maintaining our daily routines, expanding our business or exploring new ideas and, even when we are supposed to be resting, recovering & relaxing, the evil twins of Anger & Worry can creep in to disrupt.

As previously mentioned, the very first step to solving a problem is knowing or acknowledging that there is indeed a problem. A problem can only be addressed if in the first place it is acknowledged that it exists! Regardless of which stage of FiSt ExRe (Fire fighting, Stabilising, Expanding, Recovery) we are doing, it pays to be aware when these 2 destructive emotions slowly creep in on us.

When Angry, it is likely that it is already too late to avoid it. The moment we realise that we are angry, the emotion has already set in; it has already arrived within us, trying to manipulate our brains and disrupt our smart logic. When angry, we are likely to react (without thinking logically) rather than respond (choosing actions wisely).

TIME is the most potent antidote for Anger.

Identify the source or trigger of that anger, put distance between yourself and that source of anger. Let time heal you and your emotions. Once anger has subsided, wear your smart head again to understand how that anger arrived so it can be avoided the next time around.

Worry — it has been medically and psychologically proven that Worry is the biggest, most dangerous silent killer of humans. Worry takes many shapes and form. One of the most destructive forms of worry has been labelled as “Depression”. Depression has been medically proven to be an imbalance in hormones. So yes, depression is a physiological state, like a fever or infection. I do agree with doctors and scientists for them to label depression as a medical condition because I do not have a medical degree to even dream of arguing with their findings. In line with agreeing with what medical professionals preach, medical practitioners also officially have the word “Idiopathic”. Idiopathic refers to a medical condition or disease with an unknown cause or spontaneous origin. It is typically a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning doctors have ruled out all known causes. Thus, in terms of probability, Depression can be idiopathic. This is where I challenge you, the reader, to take control of your worry, even when you think you have depression. The mind is a powerful thing. Be smarter than depression. Seek medical help ASAP fi you think you have depression or severe worry but please keep open the avenue of you being stronger and smarter to be able to find ways to kick worry and depression out of the window.

I’ll write another article of how I battle worry, the seemingly never-ending battle inside my head, every single day. But for this article, let me just share the main thing that enabled me to at least put up a fair fight with worry — I RUN. I WALK. I MOVE.

Completing my daily number of steps is healthy for my body but what I’ve found out is that it is even way healthier for my mind. When I run, when I walk, I am alone with my thoughts and I let the angels and demons in my head battle it out. While they are battling, I, the self-proclaimed smart guy (in my head) analyse what good the angels are doing for me and what bad the devils are inflicting on me. Being smart (again, telling myself in my own head that I am smart enough helps me evaluate), I stand between the battle of angels and demons and I command balance of the daily battle. It is my OWN head, my OWN mind, so I control when I tell the bad thoughts to go away. Denzel Washington, a famous but authentic Hollywood actor, once said: “The more you do, the better you get.” I think that line is a natural law of life. It is inescapable. Hence, the more I run, the better I get at my hobby of running. The more I manage the battles of angels & demons in my head during those runs (or walks during recovery periods), the better I am at vanquishing the bad thoughts such as worry and depression and the better I get in nurturing my mind angels.

For me, completing my number of steps on a daily basis has become an anchor to not only keep my body healthily moving, but to also let my mind be clear, to battle worry for example.

My running routine is not unique to me. I’ve read before that Abraham Lincoln spends an hour daily right after dinner to evaluate his days and write his thoughts on his little notebook. He might have been using that hour to also evaluate the battle of angels & demons in his own mind. Find your own routine. It does not have to be running. It does not have to be written in a little notebook like Abraham Lincoln did. Find a way to confront your worry. Be consistent and you will be better at managing worry.