We all deal with a lot of frustration in life. Often, those frustrations seem to come from the same situations, dealing with the same people, over and over again. A lot of times, we can take more control over our sense of calm when we are facing those frustrations simply by adjusting our expectations.
We tend to set ourselves up by expecting that, “This time, something is going to be different.” or “This time that project won’t take as long.” or “This person is going to treat me different or respond to me differently than they normally do.” That difference between our “wishful thinking” and the reality of the situation we are facing is typically the basis of the frustration we feel.
So, next time you’re facing a situation that you know tends to frustrate you, try adjusting your expectations to match what you know the reality of your situation to be.
Larry Deavers is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Executive Director of Family Counseling Service of West Alabama.