Anatomy of Frustration

This blog is about this emotional disposition that we are all susceptible to and my main objective is to explore the anatomy of frustration and give some nuggets on how to transform frustration into opportunities and unlock the power to succeed.

Frustration is a phenomenon that we have to deal with on a daily basis. The burdens of work, family, unforeseen crises, unmet expectations combine to produce tangled loops of frustration in our lives. While there are certain things we can do to make life run more smoothly, we must understand that frustration is inevitable as we progress through life. Frustration is not only just an inevitable dilemma, but also useful in our life pursuits. However, what we chose to do or not to do in moments of frustration is what will determine our ability to take action on what is necessary for us to achieve our expectations or desires and our inability to produce our desired outcome.

Our initial reaction to frustration is to yield to it and its negative consequences without taking action in the direction of our anticipated outcome. We also resist or ignore it altogether, putting up a protective defense and confront it as an enemy with which we feel we must do battle. The yielding, resisting, partially or completely ignoring this emotion and others like it is negative and can produce only negative results, we will find ourselves producing more frustration, anxiety, stress and fear than opportunities and productivity.