Accept that all of us can be hurt, that all of us can--and surely will at times--fail. I think we should follow a simple rule: if we can take the worst, take the risk.

Dr. Joyce

 

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

John F. Kennedy

 

Do these phrases sound vaguely familiar?

Life is full of frustrations. From the minor irritations of losing your house key to the major anxieties of continued failure towards a goal. Frustration is not a pleasant emotion in any magnitude. Because of the unpleasantness of this emotion, people will often avoid anything that might lead to it. Other times we get frustrated when we don't get our way. Unfortunately, many of the things we truly want to experience such as triumph, joy, victory and purpose require a great deal of frustration. Being able to manage frustrations allow us to remain happy and positive even in trying circumstances.

Frustrating problems are incredibly energy consuming. Because these problems consume our energy in such great quantities, we need to be extremely careful that we don’t try to keep running with an empty energy reserve. Why are frustrating problems more energy consuming than normal tasks? The answer to this is relatively simple. Because your action is not producing the results you expect, your brain naturally goes into full gear, rapidly consuming mental energy to solve the problem at hand.

BELIEVING YOU CAN DO IT
There are two types of problems: Those which you know can be solved, and those which you're not sure if they can be solved or not.

The first type is obviously much easier to handle. When you know it can be done, you have greater willingness to fight the frustration.

Always try to move your problems into the "known" category of frustration. When you first rode a bicycle, you probably feared you'd fall off and break your head! But you looked around and saw the other kids staying balanced. Seeing others succeed gave you the confidence to plunge in. (And if you'd never seen anyone ride a unicycle, you'd think that was totally impossible!)

Get rid of the attitude of "It can't be done." That's defeatist and an excuse for not even trying.

Wisdom is one of the hardest skills to achieve, and is thus subject to the greatest frustrations. Next time you get stuck, look around at all the others who've succeeded. We know if they can do it, so can we. And believing we can get there is half the battle.

Is frustration consuming your life? Click here for help.