Joy Series - DEALING WITH FRUSTRATION
A story is told of a young woman who had a difficult time finding joy in anything that she did. She was constantly complaining about her job, her relationships, and her life in general. After realizing the negative effects that her grouchy behavior had on her overall well-being, she decided to begin looking for happiness in everything she did, despite how she felt about whatever she was doing.
Every morning she would decide to enjoy her day and find some sort of happiness in everything she engaged in. Little by little, she began to love her job more, she enjoyed her relationships better, and always found something to be grateful for. The main reason she managed to start getting rid of her day to day frustrations is that she decided to deal with those frustrations.
Completely avoiding frustrations is not easy because you can never tell what the day brings. Hence, the only way you can prevent such uncertainties from ruining your day is by being prepared to handle them when they come. If you know how to react when something upsetting happens, the chances of failing to continue with your day or quitting are quite slim.
Best ways of dealing with frustrations.
1. Expect them to come.
The only way you can start dealing with day to day frustrations is by expecting them to come and accepting that they are inevitable to occur. There is no way of completing work or studies without experiencing something that will have you doubting whether what you are doing is right or not. Instead of entertaining the feeling to quit, prepare yourself for unexpected events and unpleasant feelings before they come and know how you are going to react.
2. Minimize triggers.
Some of the things that are causing you to feel the way you feel may have nothing to do with how you work, study, or feel about what you are doing. The kind of people you are around, negative comments, or the people you work with may leave you questioning your abilities and feeling irritated about what you do. The best way of handling such negativities is by minimizing them. Avoid people that you can avoid and minimize the time you spend with people you cannot completely write-off.
3. Shift your focus.
Whenever you start feeling angry or frustrated try shifting your focus. Stop thinking about your source of frustration and concentrate on something else. You could stop working on a certain task if it is the cause and continue with another project that you particularly enjoy. If your partner is the cause, avoid being in the same room with them until you can calmly talk about what you are upset about.
4. Manage your anger.
As difficult as this may be to hear, most of your frustrations spring from the fact that you are failing to control your anger. If you easily get offended dealing with frustrations becomes a bit more difficult. Hence, you have to start managing your anger to avoid anything unpleasant and unplanned for getting the best of you.
5. Act on what you want to achieve.
Failing to achieve your goals as well as failing to live the life you want is one of the main things that have the power to leave you with hostile feelings. For example, feelings of inadequacy which often lead to rage. You can get rid of the anger that comes with failing to accomplish your goals by acting on what you want to achieve and refusing to give up even when the odds are stacked up against you.
6. Find better ways of doing what you are doing.
Overcome daily irritations and annoyances springing up from various activities you engage in by finding better ways of carrying out those activities. Thomas A. Edison one of the world’s greatest inventors once said: “There is a way to do it better, find it.” It still holds today, find better ways of doing what you are doing and begin experiencing more joy from your tasks, studies, etc.
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