Lately, I’ve been thinking about something I see all around me. It feels like everyone is enraged by something these days. You don’t have to look far—scroll through social media for five minutes, and you’ll find people angry about politics, culture, society, and a host of other issues. Everyone seems to be fueled by a simmering sense of outrage. And the truth is, I get it. There’s a part of me that feels the pull, too—that quick jolt of righteous anger when I see something that feels wrong.
But what I’ve come to realise is that rage—especially in its collective form—often stems from something deeper. It’s more than just anger about a particular issue or event. At its core, it’s a reaction to something far more personal: a feeling of powerlessness.
Rage as a Response to Powerlessness
When people feel powerless, when they believe they can’t make a meaningful impact on the world around them, that’s when rage takes over. Anger, in this case, becomes a coping mechanism. It’s a way to feel something—anything—that can counteract the helplessness. Rage gives people a cause, something to fight for, and more importantly, something to believe in.
I remember vividly those early days in my martial arts training, where every punch I threw felt like an outlet for my frustrations with the world. I was convinced that if I could fight hard enough, I would finally feel in control. But the more I fought, the more I realised I wasn’t actually fixing anything. The powerlessness I felt wasn’t going away; it was just being masked by temporary bursts of rage. I was fighting shadows—both inside and out.
But here’s the problem with that: while rage might give us a momentary sense of control or purpose, it doesn’t last. It’s like a spark that flares up, blinding us for a moment, but quickly fizzles out. And when it does, we’re left feeling just as powerless as before. Maybe even more so.
The Meaning Crisis: Why Rage Fills the Void
I believe a lot of this has to do with what’s being called the meaning crisis. In today’s modern world, people are struggling to find a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. Traditional structures of meaning—whether it’s religion, community, or even the sense of identity that comes from stable work—have eroded over time. In their place, we have a constant stream of information, stimulation, and, yes, outrage.
When people don’t have a deeper purpose or meaning guiding their lives, they’re more vulnerable to being swept up in whatever cause or outrage comes their way. Rage becomes a kind of stand-in for purpose. It fills the void that’s left when we no longer have something solid to believe in. And the irony is, the more we cling to rage as a solution, the further we drift from what we’re actually searching for.
Modern thinkers like John Vervaeke have spoken about this ‘meaning crisis’—how we’ve lost our connection to deeper sources of purpose and community. Without these anchors, we’re left flailing, reaching for anything that offers a semblance of certainty. Rage, in that sense, is like a quick fix—a shot of adrenaline for a world that’s running on empty.
Looking back, I can see how rage was just a way for me to feel in control when, in reality, I felt completely lost.
Rage Feeds the Ego—But Starves the Soul
Rage is a powerful force, but it’s also deceptive. It feeds the ego, giving us the illusion of power and control, but in the long run, it starves the soul. When we’re caught up in anger, we’re not thinking clearly. We’re reacting. We’re chasing after an emotional high that distracts us from doing the harder, deeper work of figuring out what truly matters.
I remember one specific sparring match where I thought I had to ‘win’ at all costs. My opponent was faster, and I was furious at myself for being outmanoeuvred. My rage surged, and I started swinging wildly, losing all technique, all clarity. In the end, I lost the match, not because my opponent was better, but because my anger blinded me to everything else. That was a lesson I never forgot: anger might push you to fight, but it also clouds your vision and stops you from actually seeing the bigger picture.
This applies just as much to life as it does to martial arts. When you’re living from a place of rage, you’re constantly on the defensive. You’re not building anything meaningful; you’re just tearing down what you don’t like. But the problem with tearing things down is that it leaves you with nothing. And that emptiness is where the real damage happens.
The Solution? Let Go of Rage and Start the Inner Work
So, what’s the way out of this cycle? I won’t pretend it’s easy, but I do know this: the real solution starts with letting go of the rage and doing the inner work. It’s about acknowledging those feelings of powerlessness, fear, and uncertainty and facing them head-on, rather than covering them up with anger.
Letting go of anger feels terrifying at first—like putting down the only weapon you have to defend yourself. For a long time, I held onto it because I was scared of what lay beneath. Who was I without the rage? What if, without it, I was left defenceless? But over time, I realised that true strength isn’t found in keeping your guard up—it’s in the willingness to face what’s underneath, the fear, the uncertainty, and to embrace it rather than fight it.
When I talk about the inner work, I mean learning to find peace within yourself. It’s about realising that true strength doesn’t come from dominating or controlling others but from mastering your own mind and emotions. It’s about recognising that, while you can’t always control the world around you, you can control how you respond to it.
This is where martial arts has played a profound role in my life. Martial arts taught me how to channel my anger, not into destructive behaviour, but into discipline, focus, and self-mastery. It gave me a framework to confront my own inner conflicts and find a deeper sense of purpose beyond just reacting to the world around me.
Replacing Rage with Real Meaningful Purpose
The antidote to rage is purpose—real, meaningful purpose. It’s about finding something in your life that you can build on, something that gives you a sense of direction. For me, it’s been about helping others through my work, teaching martial arts not just as a tool for self-protection, but as a path to personal growth. It’s about creating a life where I’m not constantly fighting the world, but instead finding ways to contribute to it.
I started by asking myself simple but profound questions: What do I care about? What legacy do I want to leave? It wasn’t immediate, but slowly, these questions helped me shift my focus from reacting to the world to contributing to it. That’s when I found my purpose—teaching martial arts not just as a physical skill, but as a pathway to inner mastery and growth.
When you have a sense of purpose, you no longer need to rely on anger to feel alive. You’re not reacting to every slight or outrage that comes your way. Instead, you’re focused on something bigger, something that gives your life meaning. And that’s what ultimately gives you peace.
Stepping Away from Rage
The truth is, letting go of rage isn’t easy. It’s hard to break free from something that has become so deeply ingrained in how we relate to the world. But if you’re tired of feeling like you’re always fighting—fighting others, fighting yourself—then I urge you to take that first step. Start asking the deeper questions. Start doing the inner work.
Ask yourself, What do I want my life to be about? What are you building, rather than just tearing down? Because when you find the answer to that question, you’ll realise that the real battle isn’t with the world—it’s with yourself. And that’s where true peace lies.