Frustrations in Life

I watched while my football team was getting beat up on the football field that late fall October day. We were getting outplayed by a great football team. Their offense was crisp; the defense crushed us all day. This was not a pretty game to watch or play in. When you play on the college level, your team mates are to keep their negative thoughts to themselves unless it benefits the team. I heard starters saying things that any coach would have benched them for.

One of my offensive linemen was complaining about the officials not doing their job. The line judge was missing calls he exclaimed, all the while this guy was getting outplayed by a star freshman lineman. I realize that in the heat of battle, we must take responsibility for our own mistakes. Any coach who is worth his weight in salt will observe and make changes that are necessary to win a game, that’s their job as a college coach.

There have been only a few occasions that I have seen and heard a player ask the coach to take him out of a game. Why? Because he was not doing the job needed to win a game, and realized the team was more important then his starting position. Now that’s a class act! In the game of life, have you ever known anyone, who was over their heads at work, tell their boss, please find someone else who can do this job? It’s out of my league; I am not qualified or competent to do it. Very few people do this, as they might get fired.

We all get frustrated at times in our lives, in our homes and on the job. We all probably can remember a time that we wanted to throw in the towel, but didn’t. We simply were frustrated with a bad situation and saw no way out of it.

I was as a freshman Football coach at the U of Wisconsin; I loved working with college kids. The level at which these kids played ball was at the top of their game. Football players get frustrated very easily; their skill set is second to none. The reason these kids are in division 1 colleges, they are the best in the country. They have the best athletic ability and were given scholarships based on how well they played and performed in high school.

To play at this level, there are skill sets colleges look at. Speed, strength, agility and flexibility. To play in any of the top colleges in this country, you must have all of these in place. I know these kids get frustrated very easily. You spend hours at practice, in the weight room and you have to keep your grades up! I can remember trying to keep my grades up, while working out in the weight room. I had my school books, in the weight room; it was a hard balance to maintain a good grade point average. I would Read science text books and pump iron at the same time.

So, how did I deal with my frustrations, well I first had to define them! Anytime we are making an effort and not getting anything in return we will feel the emotion of frustration. It comes in many forms such as, road blocks, barriers, hurdles, etc. All self imposed for the most part. There are mixed messages to being frustrated, one being that, you think that should be doing better then you really are. At least you can modify your behavior and can overcome your frustration. You know something’s not working for you and you need to make some changes to make it happen. Write down a game plan, what is it that you must do to overcome frustration? What is your first immediate reaction? Have that written down and take notes as you adjust for future frustrations. I did that and it helped a great deal. I kept track of what worked and what didn’t! I looked to hang around positive people, people who didn’t live in the past and make excuses for being frustrated. I wrote in my journals, how I over came frustrations. I identified a list of possible actions that I could take, what worked and what didn’t. Try some of these suggestions, they do work.

If you feel that you are in a holding pattern with your frustrations and want some help in dealing with it, you can contact Dr. Mike Brooks to help you! The more frustration you are able to deal with, you will get resolve and overcome it. Avoiding frustration, hiding from frustration, is not the answer, face it head on!

If you need coaching in dealing with frustration you can contact Dr. Mike Brooks by phone or his website. Here are some questions that might help you decide if you need additional coaching. Are you frustrated with work or home? Do need help in overcoming your frustrations, how to deal with them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should call for an appointment.

How does Life Coaching work? You’ll meet once a week, by phone, for a one-on-one conference, usually 45 minutes a session. In each phone conference you’ll plan and review, together, each of your “Focus Goals” and action areas. In each session, you’ll also receive support and guidance in creating the right attitudes and motivation in the area’s that you want to work on most. In addition to the weekly phone conferences, you’ll also communicate by e-mail, so you’ll have help and support throughout the week.

If you need more information about the Professional Accountability Partner Program, call 303.456.0555 or go to contact Mike link to set up a free consultation appointment. Dr. Mike’s website is www.applicablecoaching.com all calls are confidential and your privacy is protected. Check out Mike’s blog at: https://applicablecoaching.com/blog/ I always welcome your thoughts and comments on today’s coaching article. Mike is also available for speaking engagements.