“You’ve done it before, and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.”
Ralph Marston
Happy Monday!
I hope your weekend was enjoyable! It’s wonderful to carve out a couple of days away from the hustle, bustle, and frustrations of the week. We spend too little time involved in pleasant activities, given our busy schedules, so it’s good to protect whatever downtime we make for ourselves.
Very few things frustrate me, but when they do, my mood can change so fast it’s dizzying. I run pretty even most of the time and live by my favorite beatitude, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent.” However, bent is a mild explanation for the times that frustration kicks in. I see red. Seriously.
I’m not proud of it, but frustration is my nemesis. It’s a little embarrassing. I wonder if you struggle with it, too? That annoying feeling that we just can’t get whatever currently consumes our attention right, after trying for hours. Or maybe it’s a family member, friend, or colleague who means well but irritates us to no end. (Maybe it’s our children. Shhh, don’t tell my girls; that can be our little secret!)
Whatever the cause, it can make us feel like we’re losing control, and we really don’t care for that feeling at all! It might be precisely the right time to regroup and find a way to turn all that hostility and aggravation into something productive. It’s the time to do our deep breathing exercises and look for something positive on which to focus. Here’s an idea to turn things around:
Of course, we’ve done it numerous times before. But why does it return, and where are we missing the permanent fix? I think it’s because we’re simple humans living in an imperfect world. When we think about it that way, it somewhat levels the playing field.
We can plan for frustration to be a part of our daily lives and try to prepare for the eventuality. We can really do all the amazing things we plan for ourselves regarding self-care and well-being rather than just think about them. We can redirect our energies to more positive pursuits and minimize the opportunities for frustration to take hold.
Maybe it’s all a matter of timing. Scripture instructs that:
“To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven . . . “ Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)
Or maybe it’s about being prepared:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
I saw a quote from J. R. Incer stating, “Frustration is the nagging feeling that tells us we are not listening or following our intuition.”
Perhaps it’s our intuition or maybe something of a Divine nature. I believe we all can respond better to those inner voices that urge us in positive directions. When we can pause the frustration long enough to hear the workaround or new approach, we are in a great place to make some lasting changes in our perspectives and mindsets.
Those changes can then inform how we respond to frustrations and change them into building blocks for unstoppable determination. I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of redirecting myself to be positive and effective ~ not to mention unstoppable!
Have a great week, determined to be unstoppable!
Be Well & Be Blessed!
Lucinda
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