I’ve come to believe that all my past failures and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understanding that have created the new level of living I now enjoy—Anthony Robbins

One of the sources of pride in being a human being is the ability to bear present frustration in the interest of longer purposes—Helen Merell Lynd.

Have you ever felt deep-seated frustration at a circumstance or situation you felt powerless and unable to do anything about? Trust me, I know the feeling.

It becomes even more worrisome when you see other people who appear less endowed succeeding in the areas or spheres you currently feel frustrated about.

The pain is rubbed in when you allow yourself to be so overwhelmed by what appears to be your incapacity to do anything to remedy the situation.

The English Thesaurus defines frustration as "aggravation, irritation, disturbance, annoyance, nuisance, disappointment, dissatisfaction". It signifies a patent discontent with the status quo when measured in the light of the ideal.

Frustration does not usually happen until there is a basis for comparison–an imagined ideal that far exceeds the present level.

You are a lady in your 30’s and none of the guys around you is asking you out. In the meantime, almost all your friends have been permanently hooked. Your frustration becomes aggravated each time you see a wedding invitation and it has the name of another friend on it as the bride!

As a school teacher, who had just been promoted to be the head teacher, you were whistling and feeling generally happy with yourself. One day, while waiting in the sun to catch a bike, a guy who was two years your junior in school, cruised by in the latest model of an S-class Mercedes.

It would not have been any concern of yours if he had quietly gone on without allowing you to see him.

But as if he was sent to be your nemesis, he sees you, actually parks a few feet away from you and winds down his window and calls your name and asks where you are going. You mention where and he offers you a ride.

All through the journey, you force yourself to smile but your brain is in a riot as different thoughts are flashing through it. You probably know the feeling.

Perhaps, you were bypassed in a promotion exercise that you thought should have favoured you. Or you’ve been married for some years and you do not have a child but constantly come across people who have only been married for three years and already have two children.

Perhaps, as a parent, it is the frustration of not being able to afford sending your children to a school of your choice for reasons dictated by financial limitations.

Many years ago, I had to prevail on my daughter to spend a year in a public school because I could not afford to keep her and her elder brother in the boarding house of a private school. I promised her that things would change in the following year, and thank God it did.

As a young graduate, a little under 30 years, my first job was that of a school teacher. I had a girlfriend then with whom I was so much in love and was determined to build a future with.

At a very critical moment in my life, her family convinced her to dump me because they did not think I had a future and didn’t think I had what it would take to take care of her.

Because of what we had shared together, it was depressing to hear that from her mouth but the frustration I felt made me look her straight in the eye and tell her that her parents were not God and so did not have the final say on the issue of anyone’s destiny.

I went further to let her know that if she saw me in that position in one year from that time, she should not even bother to greet me.

A few months thereafter, I got a better job. Looking back, the frustration I felt then made me decide that failure was not an option for me. And indeed God has been faithful!

When you feel frustrated about any situation, the problem is not with the feeling. It is usually an alert system. And mind you, there is nothing wrong with you!

Frustration is a feeling that God designed in us to auto-inform us about the conflict between our status quo and our ideal. After all, God’s frustration with the sin problem and the degenerate condition of fallen man produced salvation in Christ.

In reality, frustration is a two-edged sword. When you feel frustrated, you generate energy because your emotions are involved.

One of the best definitions of emotion that I have heard is "energy in motion".

The real question is, ‘Will you dissipate the energy or will you harness it?’