About Frustration
Most of us complain when we get frustrated. Why do things have to go wrong? Why don’t things go my way? Why can’t things go smoothly?
Sound familiar?
But getting frustrated in a sign that something positive is occurring. It’s a sign that we’ve set a challenging goal. Those who have no goals (or who set easy to reach goals) have very little frustration in their lives. There’s no frustration with being a couch potato. On the other hand, the athletes, performers, and leaders that we admire most are probably frustrated most of the time. Every Olympic runner is frustrated when he hasn’t beaten his own record. Singers are frustrated when their performance isn’t pitch perfect. School leaders are frustrated when their test scores fall short of the target.
How about you? Are you frustrated with the stacks of papers that haven’t been graded yet or the IEPs that aren’t drafted yet? Are you frustrated when your students aren’t succeeding at the level as you believe they can? Are you frustrated when there is friction in your collaborative team meeting? Are you frustrated that parents aren’t showing up as the partners you envision? Or, if you are a parent or community provider, are you frustrated that “those educators” aren’t meeting you half way? Congratulations! These are all signs that you have a bigger vision of what is possible.
Psychologists tell is that our bodies thrive when we embrace stress. We also suffer health ailments when we believe that stress in a negative, unwelcome part of life. There is lots of evidence that our best problem solving and creativity are sparked with things are “messy.”
Can you imagine if we all started to enjoy frustration? What if you woke up each morning saying, “Can’t wait to see what challenges this day will bring!” How about if your students laughed in the face of difficult work? We may not achieve all our targets, but we’d be a whole lot closer and have fun in the process!
