Fixed Mindset and Anger blog

“What Anger Is Really Trying to Tell You”

“You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.” – Buddha

Understanding Anger and the Fixed Mindset

Individuals with a fixed mindset often struggle more with anger and emotional regulation, especially when faced with challenges, criticism, or failure.

A fixed mindset is rooted in the belief that abilities, intelligence, and traits are static, leading to defensiveness, frustration, and blame when things don’t go their way.

This can lead to blocked energy or energy releasing inappropriately.

The amygdala, a small area in the brain responsible for processing emotions and linking them to learning and memories, becomes highly active. When it’s overstimulated, it can trigger the body’s fight or flight response.

People with a fixed mindset can perceive challenges or feedback as personal attacks, triggering amygdala hyperactivity, the brain’s fear and anger centre.

This leads to impulsive, reactive emotions rather than logical responses.

The prefrontal cortex, responsible for emotional regulation and rational thinking, can be under-developed or under-utilised in people who resist change.

They struggle to pause, reflect, and adapt before reacting emotionally.

Fixed-mindset individuals also often have negative thought loops, for example believing “If I fail, I am a failure.”

This all-or-nothing thinking fuels frustration, helplessness, and resentment when they struggle.

When people believe they can’t improve, they feel trapped in stress, leading to higher cortisol levels.

This stress response makes them more irritable, defensive, and prone to emotional outbursts and reactivity.

There is also some research to suggest that individuals who have grown up with parents or caregivers who could not control their own emotional responses will develop similar coping strategies.

How to Help a Fixed-Mindset Individual Manage Emotions

Reframing techniques

We can reframe failure as growth.

Instead of “I failed,” teach them to say, “I learned.”

Help them identify the lesson in challenges to reduce fear-based reactions.

Activate the Prefrontal Cortex (Pause Before Reacting)

Use breathing techniques (e.g., box breathing, 4-7-8 breath) to create space between the emotion and reaction, allowing logical thinking to kick in.

Practise self-compassion

Self-criticism fuels anger. Encourage positive self-talk such as “I’m growing through this” and compassionate reflection instead of blame.

Ask questions like “How have I become stronger through this?” or “How will this make me better in the future?”

Cognitive Restructuring (Challenging Automatic Negative Thoughts – ANTs)

Help them identify distorted thoughts (“I’ll never be good at this”) and reframe them positively (“I can improve with effort”).

Physical Body Regulation (Reducing Physiological Anger Response)

Encourage movement, exercise, stretching, shaking out tension, to reduce built-up anger and stress, acknowledging that a growth mindset can be developed gradually.

Affirmations

Used in the right way and at the right time, affirmations can be powerful tools.

Examples: “My abilities can improve with effort.” “I am patient with myself.”

They encourage a positive mindset and trigger beneficial chemical changes in the body, even at a cellular level.

Journaling and Reflection

Writing about challenges activates the rational brain, helping process emotions without reacting impulsively.

It’s a personal journey that can reveal insights and blind spots people didn’t know they had.

By integrating these strategies, individuals with a fixed mindset can rewire their emotional responses, create neuroplasticity, essentially re-wiring their brain, and shift from anger and frustration to resilience and adaptability.

The Spiritual Perspective

From a spiritual perspective, a fixed mindset keeps someone stuck in lower vibrational states such as fear, frustration, and resistance, because they are attached to a rigid sense of self.

Anger, in this case, is often a defensive mechanism triggered when their identity or perceived limitations are challenged.

Spiritual Reasons for Anger in a Fixed Mindset

Being Attached to Ego and Identity Resistance

A fixed mindset is deeply tied to the ego, which resists change because it equates growth with instability.

When confronted with a challenge, the ego perceives it as a threat to its identity, triggering anger, defensiveness, or victim mentality.

Blocked Energy and Stagnation

In spiritual traditions, emotions like anger are seen as blocked energy.

A fixed mindset creates stagnation in the solar plexus chakra (personal power) or throat chakra (expression).

When we don’t allow growth and transformation, these centres become imbalanced, leading to frustration, inner turmoil, and even physical symptoms.

Karmic and Soul Lessons

From a higher perspective, recurring anger could indicate a karmic lesson the soul has chosen to work through in this lifetime.

If someone keeps encountering the same triggers or emotional struggles, it’s a sign they’re being called to evolve beyond their current limitations.

Disconnection from Higher Self and Intuition

A fixed mindset is rooted in logic, fear, and control, often cutting people off from their own intuition and higher guidance.

The more someone resists growth, the harder life’s lessons become.

Synchronicities, spiritual nudges, and intuitive insights often push them toward expansion, but if ignored, resistance manifests as frustration, anger, and suffering.

Spiritual Strategies for Overcoming a Fixed Mindset and Managing Anger

Surrender and Trust in Divine Flow

When someone realises that growth is part of their soul’s evolution, they can stop fighting change and start trusting the process.

Work in flow rather than resistance.

Chakra Balancing and Energy Clearing

The solar plexus (personal power) and heart chakra (acceptance and compassion) can be activated to move from control and anger to growth and flow.

Practices include:

• Breathwork and visualisation (golden light in the solar plexus)

• Sound healing (mantras for self-acceptance)

• Energy work (Reiki, EFT tapping) to clear old programming.

Journaling for Soul Growth

Instead of reacting, encourage soul-aligned reflection through journaling questions such as:

What is this anger trying to teach me?

How is this challenge guiding me to my next level?

What limiting belief am I ready to release?

Anger is often a sign of misalignment.

Spiritual practices like meditation or hypnotherapy can reconnect someone to their higher self, providing clarity and healing.

By combining mindset work, emotional regulation, and spiritual practices, individuals with a fixed mindset can transcend anger and resistance, stepping into growth, expansion, and self-mastery.

With Love and Radiance,

Julie x