DR. WALLACE: I'll start by saying that I have a great boyfriend! He truly listens to me, makes good suggestions and is polite, engaging and tremendously loyal. He's always there for me, and he has my back when it comes to just about anything I can think of.

One of the personality traits I have that I would like to improve is that I'm typically angry and frustrated about 40% of the time. This means that when I'm talking to him in conversations, at least a third at the time I'll be grousing about something I don't like or something that happened to me that frustrates me.

The other day when I started on one of my typical rants, and he listened patiently and then very matter-of-factly told me that I need to find a suitable way to repurpose my anger! I didn't look at my situation so much as anger as I did frustration, but maybe he has a point. Is it even possible for me to adjust a personality trait like my "anger" and repurpose it into something else? — I Guess I Have an Anger Problem, via email

I GUESS I HAVE AN ANGER PROBLEM: Indeed, one of the great things about the human mind is that we have infinite possibilities in front of us, and we do have free will and freedom of choice in most situations in most societies around the world. This is true the preponderance of the time, even though there are situations that limit individual decision-making and taking certain actions.

In your case, I suggest seeking an outlet for your frustration when it starts to bubble up. Many people enjoy working out, whether that's lifting weights, running, climbing stairs aggressively or whatever else might help you. You're amiable and agreeable boyfriend will likely be willing to join you at the gym or for an aggressive hike with you to blow off some steam.

Beyond that, you're not limited to just physical manifestations of repurposing, as you can delve into the social or psychological aspects as well. If someone was mean to you or intentionally did something that frustrated you, a great societal response would be for you to do something kind for the next couple of strangers you encounter. Smile at people, hold the door open for somebody 10 yards from a storefront that you're entering and so forth. The idea is to fight being slighted by doing good deeds for others immediately thereafter. I trust that if you can do this, you'll feel better from a societal point of view.

Psychologically, you can give yourself pep talks and tell yourself that even though something was frustrating, you're not going to let it stick to you because you're in control of your own mind and thoughts. You're going to dismiss it, go on and be the best version of yourself and not hold onto things that frustrated or even angered you previously.

Talk to family, friends and other trusted people in your circle of influence; perhaps even speak to a counselor if you feel the need to do so at some point. The great news is, you're taking this challenge seriously and have a vast tool chest in front of you to combat it effectively.

MY LITTLE BROTHER IS A COMPULSIVE CLEANER!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a high school student and already have my driver's license. My parents are great, as they told me they would loan me our extra family car as long as I promised to be responsible with it. So far it's worked out great. For the past seven months I've been happily tooling around our town, and everything has been smooth because I'm really careful and take my driving very seriously.

Last Saturday I had plans with girlfriend of mine to hang out at the mall, do some shopping and eventually have a nice lunch together. We set a time for me to pick her up, and since my mother was leaving the house early that day, she told me that I had to drop my little brother off at his friend's house when I left to go see my girlfriend.

About 15 minutes before I was ready to leave, I went to my 9-year-old brother's room, poked my head in and told him we would be leaving soon. He was just finishing some homework and told me that our mom told him he had to clean his room before he could go play at his friend's house, so he said he'd start cleaning his room immediately. Once the 15 minutes passed, I went back to pick him up from his room, but he was in the midst of folding everything perfectly and sorting everything exactly in a very meticulous and methodical way. I told him to hurry up, and he said it would be just a few more minutes. But when I came back in five minutes, he was still doing things at exactly the same speed. It took him 10 more minutes to finish up, so that was half an hour overall.

I was late to pick up my girlfriend, and my brother frustrated me by going so slow and taking everything so seriously in cleaning his room. What's up with my little brother that he feels he has to do everything so perfectly? I was thinking next weekend I would go into his room and teach him how to do "speed cleaning" like I do. I know a lot of tricks on how to clean my room quickly so that my mom won't notice some things she might complain about if she saw them. Should I teach my little brother how to do room cleaning the way I do, or just leave him alone and keep my speed-cleaning secrets to myself? — My Brother Cleans in First Gear, via email

MY BROTHER CLEANS IN FIRST GEAR: My advice would be to leave your younger brother alone in terms of any corrective action regarding how he cleans his room. He obviously has a comfort level and a routine in how he does things, and he apparently takes his cleaning his room as seriously as you do your driving.

At this point, you now know and understand how he operates in terms of cleaning his room, so if you ever find yourself in the same position again, either adjust your schedule accordingly or get him to start his process earlier. And for the record, my bonus advice is to slowly seek to use fewer and fewer "tricks" to fool your mother when it's time to clean your room. Gradually do a better fundamental job each time such that you can do it well without the serpentine shortcuts.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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