Maeda's SIMPLICITY

On Frustration

I am no expert on human psychology, but I certainly am a student of the subject. The other day I thought of anger, which is one of the emotions I try to avoid. Today I was entirely frustrated. Is frustration an emotion? Wikipedia says it is. It's certainly an uncomfortable state to experience.

A quick search found this carefully composed list of emotions. When reading through a list of emotions, it's hard not to get emotional. The good ones are great; the bad ones are sort of ouchy.

"Frustration causes stress." I can agree with that. Usually, my number one way for relieving stress is to go for a jog. This is a good list of things to do to relieve stress that I wish I referred to earlier today. I find the last item on the Relax Now List quite interesting: Cry. As adults we rarely have the chance to cry. Kids cry all the time. No wonder they seem less stressed out than us bigger folks.

On my jog to search for a solution to my problems by consciously forgetting about the problems, I found the solution. It wasn't crying. Although, to watch a grown professor crying on the treadmill might have been newsworthy for the school paper .... Instead of managing a stream of tears on my face, I discovered resolve. To find the resolve to be stronger in cases that lead to frustration.

Is it coincidence that water from our eyes or water from our pores are both effective means for relieving our daily frustrations? To cry, or to jog. This is the simple choice to manage one's stress. Do both if you cannot decide.