Frustration: causes, consequences, and how to overcome it

Frustration: causes, consequences, and how to overcome it. Sometimes people feel frustrated for reasons unknown almost completely, and the worst case is that not knowing how you feel and why you feel that way is also frustrating.
Frustration can arise for various causes or reasons that we must learn to identify so we can overcome them. The good news is that with this article, you can learn how to overcome frustration and move on to success.

But first, what is frustration?

Frustration is an emotional reaction created when individuals cannot satisfy the expectations they have set for themselves in a specific situation (desire, projection, or illusion). This negative feeling, which appears due to not receiving what we expected, is experienced naturally and happens to children, adolescents, and adults.

Anger, helplessness, sadness, anguish, disappointment, etc., are emotions that negatively alter our mood and generate frustration.

Frustration is innate, but we can also learn it. And it is that difficulties are part of life and unexpected moments too. For this reason, we must learn to manage negative emotions and understand that it is we who build our own happiness.

Why do people get frustrated?

The frustration of not being able to meet some objective that we set, whether at an economic, work, or sentimental level, is an emotion that triggers anger, sadness, and helplessness, that is why it is important to detect what causes that frustration, how it affects your life and how to solve it.

Here are the five most common causes of frustration that prevent you from enjoying the path to the goal:

You feel you’ve failed, how to overcome frustration

This happens when we set our goals, and the only event that can give us feelings of triumph is reaching that goal, rather than enjoying the path that leads to it. We have to enjoy the time invested, regardless of whether we reach the goal or not.

You handle yourself in comparisons, how to overcome frustration

A very common mistake made by frustrated people is wanting to live like everyone else. But this only makes you lose your identity. That is why it is important to think about what you value. Time, family, creativity, helping others, etc., will be determining factors in finding the answer.

You have mortgaged your life, how to overcome frustration

This means paying with your freedom, the illusion of security. The economy provides us with the sustenance of life, but you work like a machine, losing your passion for life when it becomes the goal. The American dream is changing too. Too many of us watched our parents become slaves for possessions they worked so hard only to lose or die too soon to enjoy.

Self-medicate to fill the void, how to overcome frustration

Innovation and automation have given us more free time than ever. Rather than fill it with creativity, we self-medicate outside of our hours with television, smartphones, information, and shopping, looking for a quick stop to fill the void in our lives. Remember when you were five years old, happy and carefree? Every day was an adventure. You have to recover that sense, looking at each day as a new beginning full of possibilities.

You feel intimidated by all the struggles in the world, how to overcome frustration

Living the good life is being calm even when those around you are stirring the pot. When others get negatively involved, don’t get sucked into it. The media are usually very violent, so to support any struggle, find common ground known to those you know and support the change that you think is necessary from your corner of the world.

How to overcome frustration?

Overcoming frustration is not always easy. It is a feeling that appears in our lives when we cannot carry out our projects, dreams, and desires. It is common to have met it. Even so, it is an uncomfortable traveling companion since it does not allow you to dream again or imagine new projects.

The feelings accompanying it relate to the personal moment we live in, thus increasing feelings of ineffectiveness, low personal self-concept, complexes, lack of motivation and illusions, failure, etc.

Here are some concrete tips that you can start applying when you feel frustrated:

Accept that fighting for something does not necessarily mean that you will get it. Sometimes the valuable thing is not arriving or winning, but the learning gained along the way.

Do not overestimate what you feel when you do not get what you want. It is normal to feel bad. Try to calm your emotions, telling yourself, “it is normal to leave feeling like this, and I know it is temporary.”

Don’t get caught up in victimhood. Try not to get bogged down in how bad you feel and how unfair the world is.

Look for alternatives. Question the reasons that made you fail, and identify how you can do it differently. This is learning. Keep in mind that the same actions usually bring the same results.

Don’t let someone tell you whether you are going to achieve your goals. Someone telling you that you will not achieve it, that it is very difficult, that you are wasting your time, etc.

For each difficulty, look for a solution. That you take longer than expected does not mean that you will not achieve it. Take responsibility for your actions.

Get inspired by that person who has achieved what you set out to do. In a given situation, ask yourself what they would have done.

Create the steps to achieve your challenge. And, with that route, write down potential problems you may have and what you will do to prevent or solve them. In this way, you get ahead and avoid surprises by experiencing them as failures. Do not forget that the so-called “failure” is also a path to your success.