A few days ago, I was running on a sidewalk when a man rode his bike straight towards me. My heart was racing as I jumped out of the way. I thought, “Jerk! Haven’t you ever heard of WHEELS YIELD! I felt like punching that guy! I was definitely struggling with my “lesser angel” – anger. Fortunately, I kept running.
Most people believe that we feel anger first and then exhibit the anger in our body. However, there is an alternative hypothesis that states the reverse: my body gets angry, and then I feel angry. According to the James-Lange Theory of Emotion[2], my body perceives a particular person, action, or idea, and reacts with a quickened pulse, flushed face, trembling hands – and only then do I feel the emotion of anger.
William James, American philosopher and psychologist, was one of the developers of the James-Lange theory. According to James, if my usual physical signs and symptoms of anger are blocked, then I won’t feel the emotion of anger.
Running definitely “blocks” my symptoms of anger! I kept running after the man on the bike refused to yield. If I would have stopped, I probably would have screamed at him, which would be ineffective. I can't control him, the only thing I can remotely attempt to control in this universe is me. As I continued running, my body was “too busy” to produce the physiological reactions of anger. It was totally absorbed by the physical effort of running – steady pace, calm breath, constant effort, and copious sweat.
As I continued running, anger gave way to calm. James believed that to be calm, we should act calm. In his pragmatic approach, we deal with our “lesser angels” by substituting a positive emotion for a negative one. He said, “To wrestle with a bad feeling only pins our attention on it, and keeps it still fastened in the mind; whereas if we act as if from some better feeling, the old bad feeling soon folds its tent and steals away.” In other words, if you act calm, look calm, and speak calmly - you will feel calm. You can substitute a “lesser angel” with a “better angel.”
William Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State, had originally suggested that Lincoln close his First Inaugural Address[3] by calling upon the “the guardian angel of the nation.” But Lincoln scratched out Steward’s suggestion and replaced it in his own handwriting with a phrase saying that what the nation needed would not come from outside us, as in an angel guarding us from above, but instead from within us – something “better” in the “nature” of both northerners and southerners.
We can move away from our “lesser angels” and towards our “better angels.” Indeed, turning inward and being aware of how our bodies react to a person, object, or idea is the first step towards understanding our emotions. From that awareness, we can act - exchange a negative emotion with a positive one - substitute feelings that destroy with those that create - replace our view of the world from Us vs. Them to We the People. Running isn't the only way to do this, any physical exercise can be as beneficial. When our bodies are focused on movement, are minds are free to turn inward, towards our "better angels."
[1] https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20847875/the-rise-of-run-rage/
[2] James, W., & Richardson, R. D. (2010). The Heart of William James (1st Edition). Harvard University Press.
[3] https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp
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