Have you ever had a goal, made some good progress and then taken two steps back? It’s frustrating isn’t it?

Frustration can beat us down. It will beat us twice if we let it.

Frustration is just a test to see if you really want this.

–Greg Knapp

My oldest daughter, Faith, asked me to show her a chord and a new rhythm on the guitar last night. As we started to work on it, I saw her tearing up.

I asked her why and she said, “I was practicing this earlier and I had it. Now I can’t do it. It’s so frustrating!”

The frustration had taken the joy out of playing guitar for her. If we weren’t careful, it was going to push her to give up learning the song she wanted to play. Too many sessions like that and frustration might beat her into giving up on the guitar all together.

So, we took a step back and:

• Thought about all the progress she has made on the guitar
• Discussed how if it was easy everyone would do it
• Remembered that she had learned harder things than this before

Then we started over again, slowly, until she got it. The joy came back in her eyes. With each little success, she became more confident that she could do it.

It ended up being the best part of my day. (Faith said she had fun too.)

Frustration will arise. It will try to derail you. Your goal won’t seem as reachable or as much fun. But, If you can take a breath, regroup, and begin anew, great things will happen.

How do you handle frustration?