Sometimes when I am talking to people about their Big Dream Journey, they are so frustrated, they want it NOW NOW NOW! I can certainly appreciate that sentiment. I am horribly impatient by nature, and although technology issues have taught be to be a little more patient (when the computer freezes, the only thing that works is patience…impatience just breaks it some more, trust me on this!) I can still think 'come on, come ON' at times. Here's the problem: Impatience and frustration do not get you closer to where you want to go. (I know this, I've tried impatiently and frustratedly…and it doesn't work!) In fact, they get you further away (I know this too, I've experimented at some length…and it definitely takes you further away from what you want!). Now, you may know that my September Daily Practice is 'Feeling How You Feel', so I am not going to ask you to *not* feel impatient or frustrated. That would also not work. You feel frustrated and impatient, that is just how you feel! Feel it, write it, move it, sing it, dance it. Then USE it. Over the past year or so, I've realised something about impatience and frustration…they tend to show me when I'm just sitting back and waiting for something to happen, giving away my power to someone or something 'out there' that isn't giving me what I want. Impatience and frustration tend to point to something I am not doing. And I mean specifically something I am not doing. Not just a generalised "I'm not doing enough" - because usually I am filling my time with busy work - but a specific thing I am not working on. For me, it's usually new products and services - I spend a lot of time doing articles, blogs, podcasts, videos…and sometimes I let these marketing activities take the place of money-making activities. Frustrating…and makes me impatient for when my business sky-rockets! (which I know is close, by the way - you'll be able to say 'I knew her when…'!) I need to allow myself to feel how I feel, and express it. My Morning Pages practice normally helps me to express this frustration and impatience (if you read them some days, you'd laugh at how petty, whiny, moany and cross I can be! Oh yeah, I'm super positive and all that…except for the days when I'm pissed off and frustrated and angry and wondering why I bother - who doesn't have those days?!). Once I've expressed that frustration and impatience, I start to ask myself what I could do that would make a difference to how I feel. As I say, usually for me it's because I'm not working on new products and services - things that will bring in money. So, I clear time to work on that for a while…and the frustration and impatience grudgingly and grumblingly get back in their box…until the next time I need them to kick my butt and say 'hey, there's something YOU are not doing here' - not to punish me or get down on me, but just to point it out. I'm working on getting them to do that without pissing me off…but until I spot the signs of too much busy-work earlier, it's Mr Frustrated and Little Miss Impatient's job to rap me over the head with a wooden spoon (metaphorically) and tell me to change my focus! There's a choice here. You can either 'just' feel impatient and frustrated and angry and down on yourself and like you are not getting anywhere, OR you can USE that feeling. Find out what it is telling you. Find out the positive intention of that feeling. Find out how it can help you and serve you and use it to get closer to your Big Dream instead of further away. It's there already, right? Might as well get some good stuff out of it! - Something to Play With - What are your frustration and impatience telling you? Let them talk - write all that frustrated, angry, aaaaaaaaargh shit down. (don't take them too seriously, they're just frustrated and impatient! Seriously, don’t let them make you feel bad, just let them vent.) Once they've finished ranting, er, venting, ask them what they want you to focus on to make them feel ok. Go do that. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Click the title of this e-mail to go to the website and leave a comment.