The other night I was having a little bit of an "off" day. I had a feeling of frustration and anger that was lingering inside me that I couldn't seem to shake off. It was really affecting my interactions with people, friends, family, and my pets.
This is something that tends to happen to us from time to time. We're human, we get angry sometimes. The key however, is knowing when you need to take a moment to relax your mind and calm yourself, before you do anything which you wouldn't normally do and may end up regretting later.
Calming Yourself
What really helped me relax and get back into balance was breathing. Sometimes we're so caught up with all the crazy things going on inside our minds, especially when somethings bothering us, that we forget even the most basic principles.
The key is being aware that somethings not right, and that you no longer want to feel this way. You can change your attitude quite easily, all you have to do is make the decision to feel happier. It's easy to let anger and frustration take control of the mind, like a wild animal that can be very difficult to contain. But with practice, you can change that anger vibration almost at will.
Here's some quick tips that really help me relax, stay calm, and refocus my mind when those negative thought-patterns and emotions start to set in.
1. Knowing
The first step of course is knowing that you're angry, anxious, or frustrated, and why. Sometimes we don't even know why we're feeling that way in the first place; it can be from several experiences throughout the day, other people pouring their emotions into you, someone cutting you off while driving, anything.
When the mind starts going off, it doesn't even think about the source of the anger or anxiety. It just wants to satisfy its desire to feed into it. So instead of letting it feed into those emotions, make the decision to take control of the drivers seat and feel the way you want to feel.
2. Go to A Quiet Place
When you want to calm down and relax, it's best to go somewhere where you can be alone for however long it takes for you to refocus. It doesn't matter where, somewhere out in nature is recommended, but if that's not possible at the time anywhere quiet will work.
3. Understanding
When you're somewhere quiet, sit down with your spine straight, close your eyes and breath as deeply as you can from the stomach. You don't have to count or do anything mechanical, just breath.
After a few breaths your mind will start to quiet down, and you'll be able to think more clearly. This is when you can go back through your experiences and find the root causes of any negative emotions, and understand them. Coming from a place of understanding always has a positive effect on us. It clears up any questions and puts us in peaceful state of mind.
Stay sitting down, breathing as deeply and calmly as possible until you feel better. If you can sense negative emotions starting to set in, do this right away. The longer you go throughout your day feeling angry, the harder it is to reverse it. And the higher chance you'll do or say something to someone that you might end up wishing you hadn't.
Conclusion
You'll be surprised how often we get angry over the smallest of things, sometimes it's nothing, but sitting down, breathing, and turning off the mind chatter will allow you to think clearly and figure it out.
Sometimes I laugh when I find out why I was angry, because there was nothing to even be angry about in the first place! 
What are some of your methods on how to stay calm?
Sean Burrows loves to learn and discover new ways to improve the quality of peoples lives. He studies personal development and health rigorously, and shares his life's lessons, and creative ideas through his Self Improvement blog.