Frustrated? 13 Annoyance-Busters You Can Count On

From traffic jams to telemarketers calling at dinnertime, there is often something interfering with our daily plans. Changing your focus in frustrating situations will help you to steer around the obstacles and feel more at ease.
Try these methods of learning to cope with frustration and strategies you can use with annoying people or events to make you feel more comfortable.
Benefits of Diverting Your Focus in Various Ways:
1. Achieve your goals. Frustration can be educational. When our desires are thwarted, we learn what we really care about. Use that discomfort to figure out what matters to you and become more determined to improve your life.
2. Enjoy more peace of mind. Delays and detours are a part of life. Train yourself to stay calm when your kitchen remodeling takes 3 months longer than the original estimate. That way you can enjoy sampling neighborhood restaurants instead of worrying about the disruption in your routine.
3. Think more clearly. You’ll feel like a genius when you abandon getting frustrated. All the energy that goes into nurturing grievances can now be diverted into problem solving. You’re bound to discover new alternatives and capabilities.
4. Communicate better. When you feel content, it’s easier to express yourself. The people around you are also likely to listen to you better because there is less reason for them to feel defensive.
Overcoming Frustration From Irritating Events:
1. Establish priorities. Distinguish between minor setbacks and more serious events. If you’re constantly doing the work of two positions, you may want to propose a restructuring or look for another job.
2. Create a realistic schedule. Taking on too much responsibility can make anyone feel harried. Winnow down your workload until it’s compatible with the timeframe allotted.
3. Value and reward persistence. Success happens when we persevere. If your tomatoes refuse to ripen one hot summer, try planting a different vegetable next year that will tolerate extreme weather better.
4. Manage impulses. Losing our composure can cause us to engage in actions that we later regret. If the vacation destination you had your heart set on is sold out, give yourself a cooling off period before spending too much money on another package before you really have time to analyze it.
5. Break out of your rut. Growing irritability may be a sign that you need to shake things up. Take a new route to work. The change of scenery may make road work more bearable.
6. Practice standing in line. Our tolerance for frustration increases with practice. Work out at the post office or local market. Bring along something that you can read while you stand in line. Use your ear buds to listen to a lecture.
Overcoming Frustration From Exasperating People:
1. Put yourself in their shoes. Increase your empathy for others. Think about their motivation even if you dislike their choices. Understanding their position will help you to accommodate each other.
2. Be willing to compromise. Encourage an atmosphere of give and take. If you’re tolerant of a shopper who takes too long at the cash register, others may show you the same courtesy.
3. Clarify your boundaries. On the other hand, you need to be clear about what you find acceptable. You may welcome occasional overtime so long as you get advance notice to arrange for childcare.
Learn to avoid frustrations or use them to prompt constructive action. You’ll find that you’ll soon get better results in your personal and professional activities and experience less irritation.