“When will this ever end?” Martha groaned in frustration. “If I have to face one more tirade from Mr Johnson for a mistake I didn’t commit, I’m going to scream!” Martha reflected on the practice of her dishonest supervisor to blame his junior staff for his own errors of judgement. Since Mr Johnson got promoted six months ago, he had made her job a daily nightmare.

For the third time that day, Martha daydreamed about what her life would have been like if she had followed her heart. Doing administrative work was not her real desire; in school she had excelled in home economics and had wanted to pursue a career in catering. However, she doubted that she could have earned a living at it, and had studied business at the community college instead.

Twenty years later, Martha was amazed at the developments in Jamaica’s food industry and a little envious of all the persons who had risen to stardom in the field. She still treasured baking as a hobby and enjoyed the praises of her friends who encouraged her to go into business using her talent. “What’s the point?” she sighed. “I’m too old now to make a change.”

“Miss Fraser?” Martha jumped as she heard the shrill cry of her boss. “Get in my office at once!”

Fifteen minutes later, her eyes brimming with tears, Martha returned to her desk. Mr Johnson had ignored her suggestions for improving the submission to the new client, and the company had lost out on a lucrative contract. She was shocked as she heard her supervisor criticise her in front of the department head, assigning her full responsibility for the failed proposal.

As she wiped her eyes, Martha was consumed by a wave of anger. “Enough is enough! I refuse to put up with this any more.” With a look of determination, she grabbed the telephone directory and searched for schools providing training in catering. For the first time in many years, Martha felt at peace. “Whatever it takes,” she thought, “I’m getting out of this place and going after my dream.”

Are you on the edge?
Like Martha, many persons exist in “quiet desperation.” They are distressed about their financial situation; they are overworked and underpaid; they feel anxious because they can’t make ends meet; they fall into a cycle of debt trying to plug the holes in their budget. They are even more annoyed about their inability to change their circumstances and pursue a better life.

Do these scenarios sound painfully familiar to you? Are you completely fed up with your state of affairs? Do you feel as if you’re about to have a breakdown because you can’t take your situation any more? Surprisingly, that might not be a bad thing. If you feel as if you’re living on the edge right now, you may actually be at that point where your breakthrough is imminent.

One push is all you need
For some people, change will not come until their status quo becomes completely unpleasant and unbearable. They get to that breaking point where just one more negative remark or result is enough to become the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ for them. That trigger situation will often spark a fire of righteous indignation that propels them to take decisive action.

Like a novice swimmer who stands unmoving at the top of a diving board, sometimes you just need to receive a shove to take that big plunge. If you’re lacking the motivation to do what’s required to improve your life, maybe you need to get really angry about your situation. Focus on your frustrations and turn up the fire on your feelings until it becomes too hot to bear any more.

Prepare to swim, not sink
While anger can motivate you to make positive changes in your life, if not harnessed properly, it can actually lead you to make rash decisions. You don’t want to get so irate that you lose the ability to reason logically; your emotions should instead encourage you to think clearly and objectively about what you can do to fix your problems.

Once you are sufficiently riled about your issues, the first thing you need to do is create a plan of action. Assess the reasons why you are in your current predicament. Resist the temptation to blame others for your problems, and think honestly about how your own beliefs and habits may have contributed to your distress. Then get creative in devising practical solutions.

In the same way that coals need to be periodically stoked to keep the fire blazing, anger as a motivating force will diminish over time if you don’t keep it burning inside of you. After you have used your trigger situation to spark you into action, create visual reminders of your negative motivation that will prod you to keep going until you have accomplished your goal.

Copyright © 2013 Cherryl Hanson Simpson. No reproduction without written consent.

Originally published in The Daily Observer, April 18, 2013

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Cherryl is a money coach and business mentor, and founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services. See more of her work at www.entrepreneursinjamaica.com and www.financiallysmart.org. Contact Cherryl