Handling Frustrations – What To Do When Everything Just Doesn’t Go Your Way

Handling Frustrations – What To Do When Everything Doesn’t Go Your Way

Do you have days where everything just doesn’t go the way you want?

Today is that day for me.  What is frustrating is that I can’t point to any one thing and say… THAT is what is causing me to feel this way.  I’m in a funk and I don’t like it!

With a bit of reflection; I came to the conclusion that I really wanted to get particular things done and here I am in the afternoon and I haven’t gotten them completed.  When I got to my office this morning, I had one cranky individual who just had to talk to me about his issue and due to the circumstances I couldn’t put him off.  I got distracted by e-mails; and then when I was ready to roll up my sleeves and dig in and came the realization that one item someone else was suppose to complete yesterday had slipped off their plate.

Let’s face it; not everything will go your way every day.  So how do you handle the mounting frustrations that are occurring?

I know for me a few years ago; I would just let it build and then some poor soul coming into my office to ask a simple question may get their head ripped off by me.  Today, I know to recognize what is happening inside my head and diffuse it.

For me, there are several options I have that I will use from time to time.  First is to take a walk; works great if weather is nice and it’s around lunch time.  Fresh air and walking around will usually work the frustrations out of me.  Second is to give someone a call just to talk about your frustrations.  Third is to write about it.  If I’m at work, sending an e-mail to home e-mail is a great option.  If I’m at home, I pull out my journal and write away.

What I have found is that if I constructively get my feelings out of my head; I feel better almost instantly.  The reason is that once I have identified my frustrations and then do something about it; that is usually enough for me to move on with my day without continuously dragging myself down all day.

Essentially, I’m hitting the restart button on my day.  What’s great is the knowledge that I can do this as often as I need to throughout my day.  It is always my choice as to whether I’m going to let external events control my emotions; or am I going to take control of my emotional well-being.

For me, just writing out this blog about what is going on in my head is what I needed to hit restart.  It is a good day beginning again at 2 pm.

Tags: emotions, frustrations