We all have to deal with frustration every once in a while in our lives. Even at a young age, we may already have experienced our own bouts on frustration. I can still remember mine as a kid, I would often get frustrated whenever I play Super Mario. Even if I had infinite lives, it’s still irritating to die repeatedly and not advance to the next world level.

Of course, school has its own way of serving us our usual dose of frustrating events. Countless nights of study and long hours spent on a project, only to fail or get below average marks. It can really be quite discouraging. But looking at the bright side, I believe that all those years of dealing with frustration gave me strength and the proper perspective to overcome my weaknesses. It has invaluably prepared me to conquer more challenging disappointments in the future such as feeling stuck and defeated in my work, my relationships and most specially in my finances.

So how do I deal with life’s frustrations? Well, perhaps the first and most immediate thing I do is to stop and take my mind off the things that frustrate me. I conserve whatever energy is left in me and use it to recharge myself. I do what my favorite poem tells me, “Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.”

I shut down everything temporarily and go inside my sanctuary - armed with music and my favorite comfort foods, I drive around the city without a destination. Yes, this routine has been very therapeutic for me for the past years. I would spend a couple of hours without worries inside my car and let all my troubles settle at the back of my mind.

Other than driving, I’ve also managed to come up with other things to do whenever I’m feeling depressed and frustrated. Some of which are spending time and talking with friends, writing my frustrations down and then burning the paper (I know, how dramatic) and sometimes, I simply go out for a jog inside our village. I guess the key here is to release the frustrations in a non-aggressive way.

Of course, your problems won’t get solved by simply doing that. Chances are, it will still be in the same state when you come back from taking a break. However, what I hope to be different this time is my enthusiasm to tackle the difficulties once again. Moreover, with revitalized energy, I am now more capable to think and act towards succeeding this time. Upon my return, I take stock of everything at hand and systematically analyze the situation by asking myself such questions:

• What have I learned so far?
• What do I think is the real reason that’s causing me to fail?
• How do I remedy and prevent mistakes this time?
• Is there another way to accomplish my goal?

Furthermore, I always keep in mind that frustration may lead to aggression and procrastination. Remembering so helps me act consciously without negativity and delay. When your goals seems to be so near yet so far, take positivity from the small accomplishments you’ve already attained and learn to also reward your efforts, not just your results. In the end, when you finally achieve your goals, you’ll find yourself stronger in character and more ready to face greater challenges.

Dealing with your finances can be frustrating at times, specially when you’ve been working so hard to save and invest and then a financial emergency would come and ruin your plans. As a blogger, I’ve also become familiar with common frustrations in having a website such as spending long hours optimizing for income and traffic only to get less than expected results. How about in your case? What has been your frustration lately and how are you dealing with it? Kindly share them below and continue the conversation.

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Photo courtesy of dmangust