I've yet to meet the person who never struggles with frustration. It comes with the territory of being human. Like many negative emotions, it's not wrong or weak to feel frustrated. What is crucial, however, is how we handle our frustration. Change the way you see it One of the quickest ways to change how we react to a negative emotion is to change how you see it and then what you do about it. One unproductive way to view frustration is to think how dare something frustrate me, and then become offended by it. It's as if you're saying, "God, I don't like what life is handing me right now, and how dare you let this happen?" The doing that comes with this viewing usually does not solve the problem. In fact, it often makes it worse. We yell, we curse, we blame, we raise our blood pressure and that of those around us. And the problem still remains unsolved. Solve the problem A more productive way to view frustration is as a chance for improving our problem-solving abilities. If we are frustrated, we need to find some other tools to solve the situation. Develop as many problem-solving tools as you can, because as a wise person once said, "If the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything begins to look like a nail." Ask yourself: "Because what I am doing is obviously not solving the problem, what else can I do, find out, or learn to do that might solve it?" |
