In a perfect world, you’d never get annoyed or frustrated.
But hey, we’re human and the world is far from perfect… And yes, even the energy master herself struggles with it form time to time. Long, lóng time ago, when I was a little girl with cute pigtails in her hair (so you can imagine what it must have looked like) I could really stamp my cute red booted feet in anger. Wood energy flaring up.
Back then, that was so cute.
Nowadays, not so much 😉
Luckily I learned to deal with irritation and frustration
and now I can turn that low energy frequency into inspiration and creation. This process starts with the awareness that irritation creates stagnation. It blocks the flow of energy in your system. It doesn’t feel good, it hinders you in your work and creativity and it also makes you a ‘not so nice person’ for your environment (maybe even a dragon).
And hold on, before you jump on an email to tell me that these feelings are also very useful, keep on reading because I’m not telling you to ignore these feelings I’m just saying that you can use them to move forward.
Do you want to learn how you can turn irritation into a source of inspiration and growth?
Then continue to read this article for my 3 step plan.
1 – Get a grip on yourself
The stagnation that irritation or frustration creates in your energy isn’t easy to drive away. Sweet talk and a cup of tea won’t do the trick. So you’ll really have to grab yourself by the bootstraps (scruff of the neck or ears, you pick) and be strict with yourself: “stop it!”.
If you choose to let the irritation rule your life every time, you’ll find yourself caught up in a vicious circle of stagnation and frustration. So make a choice and agree with yourself that you will call yourself to order when you are irritated and that you will turn the irritation into a source of inspiration.
2 – Write
Writing helps to organize your thoughts and to create clarity in your head. Grab a piece of paper and draw 3 lines to create 4 columns.
In the first column you write down everything that irritates you. And no one ever has to read this, it’s for your eyes only so don’t hold back. I’ll give you an example from my own life as a therapist. At one point in my carrier the health insurance companies decided to change the rules and ordered that we had to redo a certain study otherwise they would stop covering the treatments. So I wrote down how stupid and unfair I thought this was in column one.
In the second column you write down what your thoughts are about this. So in my case this was a whole list with, for example: ‘I don’t want to do this study again’, ‘it will costs me 10-15 per week to do this study again while I already have that diploma’, ‘but if I don’t do it then I’ll have to close my clinic’, ‘maybe I’ll have to sell my house’, and more of those kinds of thoughts.
For the third column you wonder if those thoughts are a 100% true and then you write down other thoughts that might also be true.
In my case, for example: ‘it’s possible that my clients will continue the treatments with me because I am the very best in what I do’, ‘I can choose another business model’, ‘I am smart enough to find other solutions’, etc.
And finally, in the fourth column you write down the opposite of what you wrote in column 1 and you describe how you would like it to be. Make sure that you only write down what you can influence yourself.
So in my example, there was no point in writing ‘the insurance companies are changing their plans’ or ‘when I wake up I’ll have a brand new diploma’. Instead I wrote: ‘I have found another way to make money with my expertise’, ‘I trust that I will always generate enough income for myself’ and ‘I feel good about this happening because it motivates me to explore new possibilities’.
3 – Action
Now it’s time for that cup of tea. And while you relax and calm your mind I invite you to do some visualisation. Imagine what it would be like if you experience the opposite of the situation that irritated you. And especially pay attention to what that feels like.
Then it’s time for action. Time to think about what you can do today to – even if it’s only for 1% (my favourite rule) – get closer to that desired situation. So you don’t have to figure it all out yet, and you don’t have to solve everything at once but at least take one step in the desired direction and you’ll notice that your whole energy will change!
Change your energy and your whole life and business will change too!
Let me give you another example.
Imagine you have a client or a patient who is always late for her appointment, she regularly forgets to cancel, she is always complaining and she never does what you advise her to do. As soon as you look at your calendar in the morning and you see that she has an appointment, you immediately feel the reluctance.
It’s up to you now: or you keep irritating yourself and allow that low energy frequency to negatively affect your day, or you turn this experience into inspiration so you can grow as a person and in your business. After all, this client or patient is on your path for a reason!
Your irritation is a cue!
Unsettling feelings are a brilliant opportunity for growth.
You could, for example, adjust your intake or acceptance policy.
You might want to take a closer look at your ICA (Ideal Customer Avatar).
You could communicate better on your website about who your offer is right for and for whom it is not.
Do you see the possibilities it presents you?
And you know it, right? You don’t become an expert in something until you’ve repeated it at least 10,000 times. So don’t give up if you’re not an energy management expert after 3 times. Repeat, repeat and repeat; that’s the secret!
Your turn!
What has recently annoyed you and how did you turn that into an inspiration? I would love it if you would share that with me (scroll down)!