Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

High-order creatures are subject to frustration, the thwarting of their desires by outside forces. Even the most sage & savvy individuals can be frustrated to distraction if the conditions are right; sometimes it even seems like a malevolent presence is working against you. Frustration can lead to rage; it's a common cause of brutality among chimpanzees, when frustrated members of a tribe vent their anger on those weaker than themselves; people do this too. On the flip side, how many achievements of our ancestors were the result of frustrated ambitions that morphed into something else?

One of the positive aspects of frustration is that it develops patience; laugh and release the tension, or get angry and achieve nothing. It's also an indication of maturity, a sanguine acceptance that most plans fail at the first opportunity. How a person responds to frustration will determine whether or not they succeed in their life's ambitions because it easily turns into resignation and abandonment of the goal; or it can become perseverance, manifested as stubbornness. Wisdom is knowing which strategy to pursue.