Why do we stop working for what we want? Why are we so quick to give up before actually investing time into something worth investing? Well one word comes to mind, Frustration. Frustration from things never going as planned. Frustration from constantly having setbacks that makes us feel like failures. Frustration from the thought of all the hard work you must invest to get to where you really want to be. Frustration can really push you or break you. It may set you in a negative state of mind that causes you to quit. Any frustration, big or small can stop you from thinking clear on what you want to get accomplished. It could also be the other way around. Frustration can be the reason why you achieve the success you want from any goal that you set. In other words, you find the opportunity in a negative situation.

Everyone wants to get to their end goal as quick as possible, right? It’s like driving a car. You start from point A and you drive until you get to point B. You estimate a 45 minute drive if you leave early to avoid any major traffic. You decide to play it safe. Making it an easy and stress less drive. Just like you planned, no traffic and arriving at the time you estimated to arrive. Awesome! You’re happy you got their safe and everything went as planned. Often times, goals can indeed be very similar like the car example. Everything goes smoothly because you decided to play it safe and planned ahead on how you would reach the end goal. But sometimes destiny has its own plans and well, everything can go out the window, despite how much effort you put to avoid any obstacle.  

Let’s take that same example and add a twist. So, you start from point A and plan to arrive at point B in 45 minutes. On the way, your car gets a flat tire. You’re 30 minutes into the drive and your destination is only 20 minutes away. You are by yourself, cell phone reception is low, the nearest gas station is a few miles away, and you never changed a flat tire in your life. So what do you do? You change the tire any way you can, despite never doing it a day in your life. Why? It’s either find the solution in yourself or stay there longer until a miracle happens. You realize you are almost to your end goal, turning back will be pointless. If the tire can be replaced, its common sense to keep going forward until you get to your point B, or nearest help. Once you get the spare on, you slowly drive with precaution. Now you’ve arrived to the nearest gas station, found someone to fix it and got yourself back on the road.

With all that talk about cars, I want to make it clear that all goals can be very similar to that of the flat tire. How? Why? Well in the scenario, the flat tire represents the obstacle. Fixing the flat tire is best solution. You know you are not far from your goal and if you decide to quit, then you will never know how long you will have to wait until help arrives. Once you let the frustration pass, you take the time to think clear and find the solution within yourself. You not only begin to find various solutions, but you learn to be stronger and more confident. Once you take your solution idea and put it into action, the results only move you forward. Taking every step along the way with precaution, until you’re confident enough to move forward with ease.

We shouldn’t be too quick to give up the moment frustration comes into play. Obstacles are inevitable and you can only have control over so much. Do not allow frustration to overcome you. Let it pass, take the time to cool off, or even sleep on it. I guarantee results will come when you have a clearer mind and begin to brainstorm. Treat each obstacle that comes your way as a flat tire, the only solution is to fix it and once its fixed, keep moving forward. I’m sure you wouldn’t abandon your car and begin to walk home. Fix the solution and with every step along the way, you will realize more about yourself then when you started the trip.  

“To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacle.”