Lean Quote: Success is Buried on the Other Side of Frustration

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"All successful people learn that success is buried on the other side of frustration." — Tony Robbins

When things don’t go your way or your team does not accomplish what was expected, you get frustrated. If the tire’s flat, you kick it! If the vending machine doesn’t give you change, you hit it! When your boss does not support a new idea you are suggesting for no apparent reason you complain about his or her lack of support.

When we fail to satisfy our deep desires or achieve important goals, the sense of frustration can be overwhelming at times. If we lose a customer because of a missed deadline despite the team’s best efforts, it’s natural to feel frustrated.

But it’s also a waste of time and energy. Frustration is futile and destructive. These behaviors limit personal growth and success, it’s important to understand what causes frustration and what you can do to minimize it.

Follow these tips to protect yourself from tumbling down frustration’s slippery slope:

1. Take responsibility! Don’t blame people and circumstances for what happens to you. Use setbacks and disappointments as opportunities to learn, not as reasons to complain and criticize.

2. Set realistic expectations for yourself and clearly understand the expectations your department, division, or team has for you. If your expectations are habitually too high, you’re going to be frequently frustrated. Remember, one of the most important rules about goal setting is to set goals realistically high and focus on the results, not just the activity!

3. Striving for excellence is good, but striving for perfection will impede your growth and productivity. If you’re focused on perfection, you’ll fail to make improvements because you’ll be afraid to take risks. You’ll miss deadlines because you’re trying to do everything perfectly. You’ll hinder your personal and professional growth because your desire to be perfect causes you to be overly sensitive to constructive criticism.

4. Set realistic expectations from others. When you expect too much, you set yourself up for disappointment and frustration. Instead of offering encouragement and support, you will tend to judge and criticize.

5. Frustration cannot coexist with a positive attitude. Strengthen your positive attitude by focusing on your goals and on the rewards you anticipate receiving when you achieve them. When you are drifting, frustrations can rise up like mountains, but when you are speeding along toward your goals, frustrations become merely bumps in the road.

6. Emotionally relive the positive moments of triumph from you past accomplishments. Success breeds success. Remembering your past successes will boost your confidence and refocus your attention on your goals.