Frustration: The Persistence Test

So, have you been feeling frustrated lately? If your answer is yes, cheer up! You may be on the road to great success! The challenge is seeing beyond the frustration of the moment, to the longer road ahead.

Everyone gets frustrated from time to time, but, depending on how you handle it, frustration can stop you in your tracks or move you forward to success. Here is a story that illustrates the point. (You may have heard this story, but it bears repeating today.) There’s this little company called Federal Express started by a guy named Fred Smith, who built the company, almost literally, out of frustration.

When Fred started FedEx, he financed it with every dime he had and hoped to deliver 150 packages a day. He delivered 16 that first day – five of which went to the home of an employee.

For a while, the staff wasn’t sure if their paychecks would bounce or not, and many times the company planes were nearly repossessed. Sometimes they had to bring in a certain amount of business during a day just to keep the doors open the next day.

Today, FedEx is a billion-dollar company, but the only reason it exists is because Fred Smith could handle frustration after frustration. Most likely, if we give some thought to it, there isn’t any worthwhile endeavor that doesn’t involve some frustration. And, the more you can handle, the bigger your eventual gain is likely to be. Like the saying goes, “If it was easy, anybody could do it!”

If you remember that every setback is an opportunity to learn and grow, to strengthen your persistence, and then behave accordingly, you’ll be miles ahead on the road to your personal picture of success. It is all in how we look at things: challenge or opportunity? Change the perspective and you change the road you are on – even if it’s only the drive home from work.