Frustration is something that you might find yourself experiencing a little or a lot in your riding adventures. In and of itself, frustration is part of a sympathetic thought pattern for the simple reason that it’s an emotion that’s not truly of the moment.
In fact, if you think about the times when you’ve found yourself frustrated, you’ll find that you’re either been:
- In a state of comparison (and consequently thinking something should be better, easier, or more accessible based on your experiences before)
- In a goal-oriented mindset (and finding yourself frustrated that your present moment efforts aren’t lining up with what you’d hoped or imagined the outcome to be).
The thing about frustration is that it’s something of a gateway drug to unleashing the Itty Bitty Sh*tty Committee. It usually doesn’t “end” with the simple experience of being frustrated but instead evolves to become whatever our most practiced and dominant story is; how we are no good at this, useless at that, how it’s never going to be this… you get the picture.
And seeing as though every thought pattern we have has a corresponding motor pattern in the body, pretty soon you’re physically and mentally expressing something that has very little to do with the moment that you find yourself in.
If you catch yourself getting frustrated, see if you can observe what is without creating a story around it.
Frustration often has us feeling that what’s going on is:
- Permanent (rather than just something that’s happening in this moment)
- Personal (it’s really not), and:
- Pervasive (like it’s going to colour the rest of your day and life)
Notice the frustration. Observe the moment objectively. Take whatever action you can in the moment to continue on.
Onwards.
❤️ Jane
