That was what Supreme Chancellor Palaptine said to Anakin Skywalker as he was trying to turn Anakin to the Dark Side.

 

My question for you all is this: Do you think this applies in real life too? Especially if you have any experience in athletic competitions or other venues where extreme focus is required, do you think that it's possible, and if so, is it advisable, to focus on the task at hand by channeling your anger? Do you think this is strictly a case-by-case thing where only some people can pull it off? Does it depend on certain personality traits?

 

What are your thoughts? If you needed to focus, would you do it the Jedi way by clearing your head of emotions, or the Sith way by using your feelings to channel extreme emotions into a "tunnel vision" of sorts?

That was what Supreme Chancellor Palaptine said to Anakin Skywalker as he was trying to turn Anakin to the Dark Side.

 

My question for you all is this: Do you think this applies in real life too? Especially if you have any experience in athletic competitions or other venues where extreme focus is required, do you think that it's possible, and if so, is it advisable, to focus on the task at hand by channeling your anger? Do you think this is strictly a case-by-case thing where only some people can pull it off? Does it depend on certain personality traits?

 

What are your thoughts? If you needed to focus, would you do it the Jedi way by clearing your head of emotions, or the Sith way by using your feelings to channel extreme emotions into a "tunnel vision" of sorts?

 

Anger leads to hate, which ends up in you jumping Tebow, so no.

Anger is to Focus as Fear is to Skyscrapers.

 

While it is true that some suggest that it's an emotion related to survavility, it is more an instinct-related emotion than a mental-related one.

 

So, no.

Anger is to Focus as Fear is to Skyscrapers.

 

While it is true that some suggest that it's an emotion related to survavility, it is more an instinct-related emotion than a mental-related one.

 

So, no.

 

I'm not so sure - Michael Jordan is the best example I can think of. Whenever someone would piss him off, or say something he didn't like, or irritate him, or whenever he wanted to show someone up - what happened? That poor dude got 50+ points hung on him by His Airness.

 

Jordan always seemed to have two different modes of focus. There was the standard mode "We have to win, it's a big game, my team needs, me, I need to buckle down and be great." And as I describe above, there was "F*** YOU" mode. Both were wildly successful but he's one of the few that could do it, which is why nobody has yet been able to be the "next" Michael Jordan. His will to win was unmatched. I think that Michael was able to channel both the Light Side and the Dark Side, and use both to their full power on demand. Michael Jordan is truly the greatest Force user ever.

*epic facepalm*

Meh, that's what I get for trying to ask a question about focus and concentration to a bunch of people who have never participated in athletics in their lives.

You ought to visit a therapist or psychologist.

I have been training in boxing, tai kwon do and judo. I like to hit the bag a lot and believe it or not, I personally think that whenever I train out of anger I hurt myself more. I stop paying attention to my breathing, my footwork, and just want to hit as hard and fast as I can - Which sounds good and everything but I've damn near sprained my wrist because I wasn't paying much attention to the angle I was hitting the bag and my fist.

 

Not sure what it's like with other people who does the same kind of training, but I need to spread my focus not only on my opponent but my own body - when I'm anger I don't think reasonably and I just want to destroy.

 

I've been more effective in fighting when I kept a neutral mindset.

I have been training in boxing, tai kwon do and judo. I like to hit the bag a lot and believe it or not, I personally think that whenever I train out of anger I hurt myself more. I stop paying attention to my breathing, my footwork, and just want to hit as hard and fast as I can - Which sounds good and everything but I've damn near sprained my wrist because I wasn't paying much attention to the angle I was hitting the bag and my fist.

 

Not sure what it's like with other people who does the same kind of training, but I need to spread my focus not only on my opponent but my own body - when I'm anger I don't think reasonably and I just want to destroy.

 

I've been more effective in fighting when I kept a neutral mindset.

 

Thanks for the post, this is exactly the type of thing I'm talking about. I'm wondering if this is more a universal fact of being human, that our bodies work better this way, or if this actually is something that some people can do and actually be effective at it. And if so, how to tell if you're one of those people. Because if it can be done, there are probably many people who haven't realized their full potential just because all their coaches and trainers have always said "clear your head, keep your emotions in check... blahblahblah" Maybe some of those are people who CAN perform better if they channel their anger into their chosen endeavor.

'Channeling' my anger helped in football for me, but I was on defensive line so it was mostly a help in hitting the **** out of someone to get to the ball. In any other activity I've been pissed while participating in(video games, homework, debate), it has hurt my ability to focus. I think anger helps to channel the dark side of the force which would be helpful to dark jedi, but otherwise pointless.

Anger can be helpful.. right up until it wounds you for life. As a highschool football player getting "mad" caused me to hit harder and cause more damage when I made contact. The downside was that I lost track of the play, often got in the way and occasionally ruined the play. When it came to lifting and training anger was only marginally helpful.

 

It was easier to lift the weights when i was angry, but that's one of the reasons it hurts to walk. I was angry, the coach was infuriating me, and I was lifting far too much weight. Shouldered the bar, something like 275 lbs, and started doing squats until i went down one time and couldn't get back up. When they lifted the bar up, they had to lift me up too as I could no longer work my right leg without shooting pain. I went immediately to the get it checked out, and lo and behold I ripped my thigh muscle in half. For the next 6 months I was on my back, unable to walk because any strain on that muscle would rip it open again. For a year it hurt to put weight on it. I couldn't lift the weight unless i was angry, and now I'll never be able to lift it again.

Generally, anger does cloud judgement, and there's a whole host of medical and psychological reasons for it. However, if you know how, you can channel that emotion without losing focus. It's very difficult, and is the kind of skill that, in Star Wars, only masters of the Dark Side achieve, but, in real life, it can happen.

 

Let me give you an example. I sat down to a friendly game of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (a CCG, if you don't know.) I was playing with my mother and two other players. The game has a cyclical setup. . . you can only attack the player to your left, and only the player to your right can attack you. I played a political card early in the game that would have helped everyone, and the player to my right responded by playing a card that damaged me for every vote the card failed by, and proceeded to pile on votes until I was almost, but not quite, taken out of the game. Had he drawn into one more vote bump card, I would have been ousted basically on my first card play. As the votes against me piled higher and higher, I got angrier and angrier, past the point where I would have simply lost control and slugged the SOB (yes, over a card game. . . you've been there, don't even pretend you haven't) and into what I like to call the "Cold Hard Place." I spent about two turns fuming, then looked at the player to my left (which happened to be my mom) and said "Sorry, Mom, you're between me and Player X," and proceeded to calmly, efficiently, methodically, and totally take her apart. One I had taken her out of the game, I looked at the player who had just become my new prey (who also happened to be this game's world champion) and said "Sorry, Player Y, but you're between me and Player X." To which he replied "I rather wish I weren't." And yes, I took him apart. Then finally got to the object of my rage, and once more calmly, efficiently, methodically, and utterly took him apart.

 

I've only been propelled to the Cold Hard Place that one time, but it was amazing. I'd never had such a sense of utter clarity and focus in my life. I knew exactly what I had to do and how to do it. It was brilliant. I wish I could live there, honestly. With practice, you can take the energy of anger, "pumping yourself up" with it, and get that same charge of power without losing focus, but it's difficult.

When you do something out of anger in sports, it's usually something stupid that you will regret. That's why you're always told to "keep your cool".

I'm a psych major and actually did a big paper and literature review on anger last semester. There's been a couple of studies that prove that anger and focus/selective attention are related. I'd have to check the paper as I forgot the exact studies, but look it up. It's true. Think about any real life situation; genuine, intense anger narrows the attention down to the source over anger. IMO, and according to many studies, it's very much true.

Yeah you guys are talking about acting out while angry or raging.

 

When you are angry at something - like a government or at a teacher who slighted you, you can easily focus that anger into making BIG changes. Take the teacher for example. One time a teacher told me that I could not pass the test unless I took out my notebook and took notes. She was a real --- about it. So finally, I took the notebook out and opened it and purposely put my pen on the paper and never touched it again.

 

Subsequently (because I was pissed my intelligence had been slighted) I got 100%.

 

In all honestly if she hadn't pissed me off, I probably wouldn't have paid much attention. Being angry at something can cause you to focus in order to spite the source.

 

Alternatively, I could have thrown the notebook at her face and gotten expelled, but that's not the same thing (though still due to anger). That's just acting out on my feelings. You see the comparison I'm drawing?

I was an amatuer boxer for 3 years. I know from experiance if you lose your head in the ring and get angry it will usually lead to your opponent capitalizing and you getting your *** kicked.

I was an amatuer boxer for 3 years. I know from experiance if you lose your head in the ring and get angry it will usually lead to your opponent capitalizing and you getting your *** kicked.

 

Surrendering to anger instead of using it.

 

Surrender to your anger, and you get your bum handed to you on silver platter.

Use it, focus it, and it allows you do perform above your expectations. Unfortunately only for a limited time due to the increased physical demands of the body that tire you more quickly than remaining calm.

Anger will tip off your adrenalines to a high rush, making you faster, feeling less pain and fatigue.

 

It wont focus your mind on higher levels though.

That was what Supreme Chancellor Palaptine said to Anakin Skywalker as he was trying to turn Anakin to the Dark Side.

 

Unarguably Palpatine was manipulating Anakin. A raged individual will be stronger for sure in physical aspects but much weaker in psychic.

Unarguably Palpatine was manipulating Anakin. A raged individual will be stronger for sure in physical aspects but much weaker in psychic.

 

Correct. This is why Obi Wan was able to put Anakin in a no-win situation in episode 3. Anakin grew a large ego and felt he was invincible to anything.

Unarguably Palpatine was manipulating Anakin. A raged individual will be stronger for sure in physical aspects but much weaker in psychic.

 

Oh of course he was, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was lying, either.

 

Also, let's not forget that Anakin was super pissed the first few minutes of that fight and he really took it to Obi-Wan with about 5 minutes of pure offense. Obi-Wan was basically playing defense and backtracking for the entire fight. He won because he was able to withstand Anakin's onslaught long enough to sense when he could get him to make a mistake, as described above because of his ego.

Edited January 25, 2012 by YanksfanJP

Anger serves a purpose, once you work through your anger and into the serenity that follows you can accomplish great things.

 

But charging at something when rage still clouds your judgement is inviting failure.

I played OLB in Division IAA college football. If you have rage, pure rage that you can call on repeatedly, then yes it does.

 

If not w/e you were using to fuel your anger will deplete and once you've used it you'll feel more at peace, at wich time it will fail you when you try and call upon it again.

Anger serves a purpose, once you work through your anger and into the serenity that follows you can accomplish great things.

 

But charging at something when rage still clouds your judgement is inviting failure.

 

is this based on real life experience or 2nd hand experience or what star wars tells you?

 

all 3 are question begging

is this based on real life experience or 2nd hand experience or what star wars tells you?

 

all 3 are question begging

 

In real life anger and passion will drive forward a common man to complete uncommon feats.

 

The man who surpasses his anger, and reach serenity will see his path clearly all the way to the end.

 

Then he can choose the proper action.