There is a strong link between anger and motivation, and nobody generates anger like nerds. Nerd rage, when unchecked, can be powerful, debilitating and embarrassing. I speak from experience. I’m ashamed to say, I recently got so mad about some silly app on my phone that I threw it against the wall and broke it.
Not long ago, I watched “The Last Dance,” the Netflix documentary about the Chicago Bulls in the 90’s. One of the things that struck me was how Michael Jordan would motivate himself. He always managed to find some little thing to get worked up about. He would use it to push him into performing his best. Whatever that thing was, it created this nugget of righteous anger that turned into the motivation to win the game. It could be something completely petty, but he would obsess about it.
For example, when a player on an opposing team said “good game Mike.” Jordan took the comment as sarcasm and that’s all it took to piss him off. The next night Jordan scored 47 points and held that player to just 15. By using this motivation tactic throughout his career, Jordan became the greatest basketball player of all time.
If you have ever experienced nerd rage, then you can understand where Jordan was coming from. You know what it’s like to get unreasonably upset about something that to outside observers seems like it isn’t a big deal. If that happens, do what Jordan did. Instead of exploding, use it. Think of a goal you want to achieve, then think about the thing that pissed you off. Now use that anger towards achieving the goal. This works great for exercise, but it can also be applied to just about anything else you want to achieve.
I see the humor in this video, but I also sympathize with this guy. CM Punk deserved to win that match and main event Wrestlemania. You don’t need to be a wrestling fan to know what it’s like to be that mad about something. The trick is to take that anger, harness it, and put it somewhere constructive.