The Frustration Virus - Causes and Treatments

Yes, we're still in the middle of Covid 19, the virus wreaking havoc on businesses and personal lives. There's another virus, in the figurative sense, that may be incubating in you and your business.  And once you are infected with the frustration virus, left untreated it can spread and intensify, resulting in reduced productivity, poor morale, and increased costs.

Delayed Gratification

Remember on Star Trek when Captain Picard would say "Make it so," and the crew's response was instantaneous? Especially when you feel a sense of urgency, or when you are dissatisfied with your current circumstances, time can seem to crawl. You want someone to make it so - right now. You want it over and done.

As for progress toward the rewards that stem from achieving your goals, it's not fast enough, especially now right now. You might like to think that there should be a straight line from lower left to upper right in your progress chart, but that is not the usual pattern. How long does a person - or a business - have to wait to see a win?!?

There is always a time lag between action and result, even when there is no shelter in place or other external restriction. You plant a seed and it doesn't sprout for days or weeks, and the fruit shows up even later. Action creates reaction, but there is always a pause in between.

Especially when you're feeling frustrated it's important to remind yourself why you are pursuing what you're pursuing. Rewards and consequences motivate behavior, so document the reasons why you're doing this. Repeat to yourself the benefits of pursuing this course, and the consequences if you do not.

You might not have to stave off all gratification until the big reward at the end. If you break this goal down you can build in small rewards along the way as you hit milestones in your progress. You can arbitrarily decide to gift someone in the middle of a long wait, to keep their spirits up. Be kind to yourself and to your team. Give them other reasons to stay engaged until the ultimate payoff can occur.

Creative Tension

The classic business book The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge discusses this.There is creative tension that lives in the gap between your current state and your goals. Like a stretching rubber band, the larger the gap between your current and desired state, the more strongly you can feel the tension. Different people have different tolerances for creative tension. 

High performing leaders often use create Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals to stretch the possibilities for the future. For them, creative tension is a sought-after ingredient in everyday operation. It's a taste enhancer. But what if that's not you? Or what if you used to be able to see the destination, but have experienced setbacks so substantial that they are testing your faith in a positive outcome?

A defined path to the goal, smaller action steps, and faster pulsing in your communication prevent sidesteps and delays, often shortening the cycle time between here and there. It can be tempting to lower your goal to relieve some of the creative tension. But if you are committed to achieve the outcome, better to get on with it and move to elevate your current state.

Factors Outside Your Control or Influence 

Who truly knows how voracious this novel corona virus is, anyway? Who's got the crystal ball to envision accurately how long you will be on the sidelines waiting to be fully back in the game? Who knows how many people will be sitting there beside you, or rushing onto the court before the whistle blows? Although experts have shared their prognistications, nobody is completely certain what will happen or how long it will take. So what do you do with that information, or the lack of it?

Throw your worry over your shoulder. If it isn't within your ability to control or influence, it's a waste of your emotion and your energy. Better to take stock of where you are right now, plan, and start taking some action. Control the controllable, influence the influenceable, and you'll be plenty busy. Build capacity so you're ready for the surge that follows the time-out. Refine your lineup on your team. Look for opportunities to flex into new markets, or into improvements on your current product mix. Examine your pricing and refine your processes.

This frustration virus is greatly weakened, even killed, by purposeful action. It's the sitting and waiting that worsens the headaches. You are in a moment that you can choose to seize. Let's do this.