31 Best Anger Quotes To Help You Keep Your Temper In Check

Anger can be an overwhelming emotion, so much so that there are classes you can take on how to manage anger in a productive way. Human beings will never be able to stop experiencing anger, but we can work on keeping our frustrations in check so that we don’t do anything to damage those around us or ourselves either emotionally or physically.

There are plenty of ways that we can handle our anger that are healthy and can keep our mental states in check, and we will talk about a few of those today, but that’s not our focus. We want you to listen to what some experts, celebrities, and philosophers have to say about anger to help give you a better perspective next time you feel your emotions taking over.

Here are some anger quotes that may help you overcome your anger.

Excessive Anger is Destructive

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Not everyone experiences excessive anger, but many of us occasionally do. Although anger is a perfectly normal emotion, it’s important not to hold onto anger and to know when to ​seek help​ either from a friend or from a professional to remain emotionally healthy.

Here are some quotes about anger’s potential for destruction in your life to help you focus on not going overboard, and remember that anger isn’t the path to ultimate happiness.

“Every time you get angry, you poison your own system.” —Alfred A. Montapert

“Being angry is like picking up a knife with no handle: it is self-harming.” —Koo Stark

“Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” —Buddha

All of the anger quotes above tell us how little anger can do to make a situation better. Most of the time anger will only increase stress and tension in a situation, so it’s best to try and manage your emotions by getting rid of your anger or taking it out elsewhere at a later time.

“Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” —Ambrose Bierce

“Getting angry in a stressful situation is like trying to clean something with dirt.” —Urbanky Aurel Petru

“Anger resolves nothing; it only puts up your blood pressure.” —Catherine Pulsifier

“To be angry is to let others’ mistakes punish you.” —Buddha

“I lose my temper, but it’s all over in a minute,” said the student. “So is the hydrogen bomb,” I replied, “but think of the damage it produces!” —George Sweeting

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” —Chinese Proverb

“Anger blows out the lamp of the mind.” —Robert G. Ingersoll

“Whatever begun in anger ends in shame.” —Benjamin Franklin

“A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.” —Bruce Lee

“Anger is one of the powerful emotions humans are bound to feel, and it is very okay, but when it becomes too much, and we let it control us, it can become destructive.” —Adrienne Blodgett

When we let anger overtake us and cause us to act, we often do things we wouldn’t normally do, which can lead to intense regret. Rather than allowing such emotional turbulence in our lives and relationships, we can get ourselves out of our current situation and then work through the anger alone before handling the initial situation with more control.

Some simple ways that we can work through our anger on our own are as follows:

• Write letters to others or ourselves
• Rank your anger
• Breathe and relax
• Embrace empathy
• Do yoga or meditate

How to Deal with Anger

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When it comes with handling your anger, there are plenty of opinions out there on what to do. Some are quite simplistic, while others are more detailed. We’ve compiled a few pieces of advice of each type so that you can work out what will be most beneficial to you.

Simple Solutions

“When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear.” —Mark Twain

“It’s practically impossible to look at a penguin and feel angry.” —Joe Moore

“In a meadow full of flowers, you cannot walk through and breathe those smells and see all those colors and remain angry. We have to support the beauty, the poetry, of life.” —Jonas Mekas

“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.” —Seneca

Complex and Complete Solutions

“When you feel anger beginning to build up inside of you, let your whole body droop and relax to the best of your ability while beginning to breathe slowly from the diaphragm. Breathing in this way helps to calm both the body and the mind, which leads to letting go of anger before it takes a hold.” —Marge Powers

“The next time you feel anger rising in you, create a distance with yourself. Dissolve the ‘I’ that has got offended and you will see that all the signs of anger will disappear.” —Dianne Kane

How Celebrities Handle Their Anger

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We often forget that celebrities are real people who experience the same human emotions as all of us, but they feel angry just as much as the average Joe. So how do celebs deal with their anger and negativity? Let’s find out with a few quotes below.

“I get angry about things, then go on and work.” —Toni Morrison

“I had to learn to forgive. I couldn’t sleep at night. I got ulcers. I had to let go, to let God deal with it. No one wants to be mad in their own house. I didn’t want to be angry my whole life. It takes so much energy out of you to be mean.” —Rodney King

“I was very fortunate to play sports. All the anger in me went out. I had to do what I had to do. If you stay angry all the time, then you really don’t have a good life.” —Willie Mays

Why Do We Get Angry? 

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When we really know ourselves, it can be easy to assess why we’re feeling angry, but sometimes our anger has been a part of us for so long that we can’t seem to rid ourselves of it. We found a few anger quotes to help you decipher why you might be angry if you identify more with the latter group.

“When you assume negative intent, you’re angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed. Your emotional quotient goes up because you are no longer almost random in your response.” —Indra Nooyi

“Angry people want you to see how powerful they are. Loving people want you to see how powerful you are.” —Chief Red Eagle

“If you get angry easily, it may be because the seed of anger in you has been watered frequently over many years, and unfortunately you have allowed it or even encouraged it to be watered.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

What to do in the Moment

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When you’re angry right now, it can be hard to attack it using the advice we gave you earlier, so sometimes knowing what not to do is the best option. In these last few quotes, we see some of the best advice we’ve found so far on how to handle angry situations and what the best possible outcomes are to anger.

“Never respond to an angry person with a fiery comeback, even if he deserves it. Don’t allow his anger to become your anger.” —Bohdi Sanders

“Use your anger for good. Anger to people is like gas to the automobile—it fuels you to move forward and get to a better place. Without it, we would not be motivated to rise to a challenge. It is an energy that compels us to define what is just and unjust.” —Arun Gandhi

“Anger expressed in a healthy and positive way means that we channel emotional anger towards resolution not attack.” —Byron R. Pulsifer

“Great anger and violence can never build a nation.” —Nelson Mandela

“If it comes, let it come. If it goes, it’s ok, let it go. Let things come and go. Stay calm, don’t let anything disturb your peace, and carry on.” —Germany Kent

Final Thoughts

Although anger is a complex human emotion that we all experience, there are plenty of mechanisms you can use to help calm down and handle your anger responsibly. We loved finding these anger quotes that show us how to deal with it, how others deal with it, and what it is we’re really feeling.

We will leave you with this final thought on anger and control from professional anger management counselor James Seals:

“When we talk about anger management, we are talking about how you control your emotional and physiological responses to situations that cause anger. You cannot avoid these situations, and you cannot avoid becoming angry at times; that is only natural. However, you can learn to control how you react.” —James Seals