Frustration

Do you find yourself getting frustrated? In this post from Lou Tice at the Winners Circle he talks about the feelings of frustration we all find ourselves experiencing from time to time. And suggests a book to look at that might help us to use those feelings more productively.

Frustration

Today, let’s talk about frustration — a feeling all of us experience from time to time — and how to overcome it.

One of the roadblocks on the path to success is frustration. Everyone feels it from time to time. It’s kind of like anxiety with a little anger thrown in, isn’t it? You feel like a tiger in a cage, filled with tension and negative energy but accomplishing nothing. And that tension and negative energy represent both the danger and the opportunity in frustration.

The danger is the tension and the negativity, because negativity blocks all the positive feelings you need in order to keep going and solve the problems at hand — and you just can’t be very creative in a tension-filled environment. The opportunity is the energy, because you can use it to overcome whatever obstacle you’re facing, as soon as you get the negative thinking under control. “Ah-ha,” you may be saying, “there’s the catch. If I could do that, I wouldn’t be frustrated.” Well, you can do it.

We teach people how to do it all the time in The Pacific Institute seminars. Cognitive psychologists teach people to do it, too. It’s simply a question of knowing how. If you’d like to learn how, pick up a copy of Dr. Martin Seligman’s book, “Learned Optimism.” It will give you a simple technique you can use to minimize negative thoughts and substitute positive ones. It’s quite simple to master and it will make a big difference in your frustration level and the time you spend spinning your wheels.

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute

I do get very frustrated — with myself rather than other people. In truth, probably far more than I should. It’s mostly because of my health, when it stops me from doing the things I would like to do, and that I feel I should do. I think, on the whole, I’m very patient and forgiving of others, but not with myself. I wonder if I might learn to minimize the negative thoughts I have with myself, substitute some positivity, and learn some optimism — maybe I’ll get this book and find out.

Another great post from Lou Tice at the Winners Circle. His posts are always a great help, and encourage me to think differently about things: If you think you might be helped by reading many more of them, do please consider subscribing for the daily emails yourself.