What frustrates you?
We all find ourselves frustrated from time to time. But I have come to believe that general frustrations can, at times, be used in a positive way by following these steps:
1) Identify the source. Sometimes the reason for the frustration is obvious and then there are times when it’s difficult to understand the source. If you’re like me, you may have found yourself inordinately angry with a driver that just pulled out in front of you. Or, maybe you’ve had an emotional outburst at someone that caught you more by surprise than it did them. There are times when we suppress feelings only to have them surface somewhere else. Step back and understand the real source of the frustration.
2) Rank the relevance. Look closely at what made you frustrated. Is it even worth the emotion? Is it something that just happened once (or rarely)? Would the resolution of this frustration improve the quality of your life? Focus on the reoccurring frustrations that are worth the work to resolve.
3) Put the angst to work. Once you’ve identified a frustration that’s worth resolution, channel the emotion into finding productive ways to keep it from happening again. Too often we take the easy way out and wallow in our frustrations, even looking for others to validate our martyrdom. But However, I’ve found when I converge my angst on finding a solution, I not only eliminate similar future frustrations, but I find better ways of working that would not have occurred to me otherwise. Unfortunately, I sometimes let the angst build beyond what’s necessary to put it to work.
Don’t be captive to your frustrations.
Run to them and use them to your advantage.
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