Frustration – it can take a lot out of us. It can wind us up, distract us, steal our time, and suck the energy right out of us. But reality is, life is full of frustrations, usually, when our intended goals and dreams aren’t met.
We may get frustrated when we meet a challenge or when something didn’t turn out the way we wanted. However, frustration can also be triggered by simple things like our smart phone not working properly, another person not behaving the way we expect, the weather ruining our plans or a million other external circumstances we have no control over. But more importantly, frustrations may come as a result of not being able to satisfy our wants, needs and desires through our own efforts and actions.
However, if we can learn how to deal with our frustrations, they allow us to change, grow and become happier, because simply ignoring frustrations will only intensify the feeling. Like any other emotion and feeling, frustrations send us a message that what we are currently doing isn’t satisfying our needs and we should switch directions and with that we can live a much more fulfilling and satisfying life.
Here are our TOP 10 tips that can help us to overcome our frustrations so they don’t block us from achieving our goals and dreams.
#1 Identify the Cause of Your Frustration
Sometimes our feelings of frustration can be so powerful that they disguise the true source of our frustration. Whenever you feel frustrated, stop for a moment and figure out what’s going on. Break down what is happening and ask yourself what is causing your frustration. What are you trying to accomplish and why are you trying to accomplish it? You may get frustrated because your laptop keeps crashing, but the true source of frustration is not the crashing of your computer, but the fact that you can’t do your research and with that you won’t be able to fulfill your need for development and growth. Once you understand what’s really going on, you are much better equipped to appropriately deal with your emotions and feelings, work through them and move on.
#2 Get Into the Present
A lot of times when we get frustrated, we focus on something in the future or we are reliving a failure or stumble from the past. One of the simplest ways to snap out of this frustrated headspace is to focus on the here and now. Slow down and focus on your breath for a couple of minutes to calm your mind and bring your attention back into the present moment. Or simply sit and focus on your surroundings. Really pay attention to what is happening around your in this very moment. Is the sun shining through your window? What smell is in the air? Can you hear any sounds from the streets. Being in the now will help you to clear your mind and deal with your frustration in a calm, collected way.
#3 Don’t Be too Rigid
Frustration is most of the time born out of expectation. We expect things to turn out a certain way, we expect people to act in a certain way and we expect situations to be a certain way. When our expectations aren’t met, we become frustrated and the hurt of things not working out the way we want keeps us in this state of frustration, preventing us to turn things around. The key to a life without constantly being frustrated it to go with the flow and let go of expectations. We are not saying to give up on your goals and dreams, but it does mean you have to accept that your dreams and desires may not work out the way you imagine and that’s ok. It wasn’t meant to be and isn’t the end of the world, but rather a sign that you were going in the wrong direction and now have the chance to pursue even bigger and better things.
#4 Remind Yourself: Obstacles and Failure Are Good Things
We may not like it in the moment, but no matter what, obstacles and failures – and with that frustration – are good things. They are a sign that you are on the brink of learning something new, of growing as a person, of mastering something bigger and better, of stepping outside your comfort zone and moving closer to achieving greatness. Whenever you can overcome your frustration, you will always be rewarded by learning something new about yourself and getting closer to becoming the best version of yourself. So the next time you are frustrated, stop, feel the frustration and then get excited for the opportunity to grow. This is incredibly powerful and an incentive to find a way to overcome your frustration.
#5 Focus on What You Want to Happen
Many times, frustration comes up when you don’t know what the next step is. This can easily be overcome by taking the time to really dig deep and figure out what it is that you really want. Get clear on your goals and dreams and create an action plan to get there. Not having this kind of clarity leads to chaos in life, which will lead to frustration. However, the clearer you are about what you want, the easier it will be to move forward even when an obstacle or setback comes up. Ask yourself, what is it that you want to achieve? What experiences do you want to have? What rewards do you want to reap? Then design a plan with small, actionable steps that will help you to move closer to achieving the life of your dreams.
#6 Come Up with Options
Keep in mind, you always have a choice and you always have options. All you need to do is sit down, brainstorm and come up with multiple solutions. Whenever you get frustrated with a situation, figure out eight possible options to turn it around. Knowing that you have options will make you feel instantly better and you won’t feel like you are trapped in a negative situation anymore. And now that you have all these options available to you, figure out which one is best for you and go for it with everything you’ve got.
#7 Take Action
We’ve all been there. When we hit a problem and get into a serious frustration we don’t want to continue working on this project anymore. We’re getting nowhere, it’s hard to get things done and we are frustrated. Whenever we reach this point, we’ll do anything to avoid the situation, we may procrastinate or even want to give up. However, if we keep pushing forward, take action and continue one step at a time, we will realize that this frustration was simply a temporary hump. Remember Thomas Edison? If he would have given up every time he hit a failure or frustration, we wouldn’t have the light bulb. But he saw challenges as an opportunity and incentive to find different solutions and kept taking action until he reached his great accomplishments.
#8 Visualize a Positive Outcome
Whenever you catch yourself getting stuck in frustration and only focus on what didn’t go right, fearing a worst-case scenario, STOP! Instead visualize achieving your goals and dreams flawlessly. Imagine how it will look like when you reach your desired outcome, how happy you will be, how you will feel, think and act, how your life will change for the better. Take a few minutes to visualize success in the most vivid colors and really feel it. This will inspire you to keep pushing forward and move in the direction of a positive outcome.
#9 Talk it Out
Instead of keeping your frustration bottled up, talk it out with a trusted friend who can help you see the situation from a more level-headed perspective. And your friend may have some words of wisdom from his or her own experience that can help you to overcome your frustrations. Or the two of you together can come up with a plan for how to overcome – or at least reduce – your frustration because two minds can find more solutions than one.
#10 Sleep on It
The majority of our subconscious life happens when we are sleeping, so use sleep to your advantage to overcome your frustrations. When you get ready for bed, get really clear on the thought of finding a solution. We are not saying that you should try to find the solution to your problem right this second, simply prepare yourself that you will find a way to break the cycle of frustration. When you set this clear intention, your subconscious mind will support you by finding the resources to make you stronger and with that find a way to move on from frustration successfully.
We all get frustrated from time to time, it is a natural emotion that we need to experience, go through and overcome because as long as we are pursuing our goals and dreams, we are bound to experience some sort of frustration. Keep in mind, frustrations aren’t the problem, it is how we deal with them that can make all the difference in our lives. By listening to our frustrations and learning how to effectively overcome them, we can create more opportunities and use them to our advantage to achieve our goals and dreams.
DON’T LET FRUSTRATION RULE OVER YOU, RULE OVER YOUR FRUSTRATION AND MAKE IT YOUR BIGGEST MOTIVATOR
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked