All of us are frustrated by something or someone…including ourselves…at least a few minutes of each day. But how much of your daily aggravation and irritation is caused by forces you CAN CONTROL vs. forces you CAN’T CONTROL? To be more specific, if you only had these three choices, how much of your aggravation today is caused by miscommunication, stress you can’t control, or stupid people?
In the first New Insights reader poll taken weekly at www.drogrady.com, intelligent people like you and me, when asked “What causes your frustration?”…gave these real-life answers.
1. MISCOMMUNICATION: 34.78%
2. STRESS YOU CAN’T CONTROL: 47.83%
3. STUPID PEOPLE: 17.39%
DISCUSSION: I surmise from the results that stress factors beyond our control rate highest on the frustration meter and put us in a maximum discomfort zone. These are situations that we must endure but have little power to change at the present time (or so we assume). Psychologically, the true purpose of frustration is to give you the energy and motivation to affect a situation and create needed changes to make your life road smoother. Thus, if a situation is truly beyond your control, you need to use self-talk tools that acknowledge this reality without getting stuck in the muck of miscommunication. You need to quit spinning your wheels until smoke is coming from underneath your car and out of your ears! No worries, mate! You will find “Inner-personal” communication tools and tips on this web page to do just that!
Thanks to all you intelligent readers who took time to honestly register your vote on my site. My CommTools are designed to serve as a beacon of light in a world that is sometimes dark and devoid of laughter. Vote next week, please!
Dr. Dennis O’Grady originally did newspaper reader surveys in conjunction with the Dayton Daily News. Dennis is the author of TALK TO ME: Communication Moves to Get Along with Anyone. You can download a free copy of chapter one and much more neat stuff at his site.