We all need help to deal with frustration from time to time: a lump forms in our throat and a feeling of helplessness invades us, as if we wanted to run away, but a great wall prevented us from doing so. TRUE?
You may be carrying this frustration from home, or some situation at the office – perhaps an argument with your boss, your subordinates or a co-worker – has triggered it. Whatever its origin, dragging this feeling along and letting it build up is never a good idea.
Daniel Goleman, creator of the concept of emotional intelligence, considers that the ability to manage frustration is one of the most important to achieving success. It is much more important than having endless special talents!
Before you quit without thinking about the consequences or flood your office with shouting, take note of these tips. Your problems may not magically disappear, but one thing is certain: you will be able to handle them much more wisely.
6 tips to deal with frustration
1. Recognize when you feel frustrated
It sounds obvious, but that doesn’t make it any less true: the first step in dealing with frustration is certainly to recognize it. Acknowledging our setbacks or feeling disappointed does not make us weak people… quite the opposite! Having emotional intelligence implies, first of all, learning to recognize our emotions as well as what causes them.
2. Trust your potential
If you know your abilities, know how to exploit your talents and trust in what you are capable of doing, it will take much more than a bad streak to knock you down. Recognize your skills and cultivate them to go even further.
3. Know your limitations
Just as you must recognize your qualities, it is important that you know how far you can go. This does not mean that you are mediocre or that you do not aspire to improve: you simply know what tools you have to achieve your goals, and you look for a way to get the most out of them. If you know your limitations and potential, setbacks will be much less difficult.
4. Don’t take anything personally
In a fit of anger, your boss shouted at you that you had made an “unacceptable” mistake. Or perhaps one of your subordinates was so distracted that he missed a key aspect of growing your business. Does your boss hate you? Does your employee want to make your life miserable? Whether someone snaps at you or unleashes your anger, it’s important to keep in mind that in the confines of an office, NOTHING is personal. So don’t take it as such.
5. Adjust your strategy
People destined to fail take every setback as a sign that they should not move forward. Those with emotional intelligence consider every fall as an opportunity to see what went wrong and readjust their strategy. They are practical: they keep what is useful to them, discard what is not, and thus achieve an increasingly effective growth strategy.
6. Meditate
No, meditating is not just for Buddhist monks or for hippies who want to achieve nirvana. If you knew that the most successful people in managing their emotions (and their businesses) have the habit of meditating daily, you would be surprised… For example? Oprah Winfrey or Madonna. Meditating not only allows you to calm down, but also enters a state of self-awareness that helps you have better control of your emotions.