Lately, I’ve been learning that sometimes frustration is good.
Hear me out: We often think of frustration as a negative thing. We look at it as a roadblock or something that occurs because of a lack in our lives, which results in us becoming down, disappointed, and demotivated.
Recently I’ve kind of had a revelation about frustration, especially in terms of my own journey. I was spending time on Instagram, and started getting frustrated with the fact that I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I compared my life to the lives of others, asking myself why some people have achieved certain things, and I have not. Let’s be honest, we have all done this at some point in life.
Then it occurred to me: Why can’t my frustration be motivation to navigate this journey I’m on? I began to see life in a whole new light. It was like, for once, I wasn’t worried about what other people were doing. It’s simple really: I started every day with a little inner dialogue, listing my frustrations, and then looking at them, not from a negative perspective, but a positive one – a perspective of motivation.
Now, when I look at a problem or a situation or a frustration, I have the ability to work on it and actually see a result, instead of being unhappy with the outcome. By turning your frustrations into motivations, the end result will be positive, adding to your journey. It’s really that simple.
However, as with everything, it’s easier said than done. Here are two steps that helped me turn frustrations into motivation:
1. Identify your trigger
My trigger was social media. The minute I started looking at other people or what I didn’t have or where I could be, I became bitter and frustrated. To combat this I identified my trigger. I then put some boundaries in place. This meant deleting a few apps for a little while, and staying away from certain pages, to prevent myself from being triggered in moments when I’m not mentally prepared.
2. Reading the moment
When we are frustrated, we tend to make rash decisions and lash out at others. What helped was that the minute I began to feel frustrated, my internal dialogue kicked in: I began to remind myself of my journey; that my journey is unique to me; and that my frustrations will push me in the direction where I want to be. Over the course of time, my reactions and emotions began to reflect a more positive attitude, without comparison or blame.
I pray these two steps help you. Remember: you may not be where you want to be, but you are where you should be.
God Speed.