He was doing the right thing, but in this case it wasn't in the right place. He's gotten to the point where he knows what to do, but not always where.
How often do we do this? The right thing, in the wrong place. With relationships, jobs, health, happiness, other things. We continue to say the same things to the people we love, but don't get a new response. We continue to push through a job, but aren't satisfied with the same routine. We work on our health, but don't see new benefits. We push to acquire the things that will make us happy, but don't understand when we get them, and are not.
Just like my son, we push, push more, then push harder, just to end up with a face of frustration and not understanding what's going on. There are times when we all get this way, but there are few things we can do to make it better.
1. Watch yourself. We get so busy watching other things that we forget to pay attention to ourselves.The Bible speaks about taking care of your own house first, then helping others. I think this applies to ourselves too.
If you begin to get frustrated it usually because you think you're doing the right thing, but the results you imagined aren't coming true. This is why watching yourself is so important. Others may not tell you that you're doing something in the wrong place, so you have to know yourself well enough to recognize this, stop, then make a new (better) decision.
2. Listen. Once you realize you're frustrated, and need to make a new decision, listen for advice. Just as we've said, people won't always tell you what you're doing, but there are ways to figure out what you could do better. Listen to the people who are closest to you; spouse, parents, kids. They are all very good at dropping hints here and there, listen to them.
Most people don't like conflict and also don't like to hurt others' feelings, but we all have a natural tendency to notice how others can improve. Therefore, we get good at dropping hints here and there of how others can improve. If you're willing to listen for it, you'll hear what others are saying to try and help you.
3. Act. As soon as you've heard some of the people around you drop hints, begin to act on them. No matter how small or insignificant the recommendation might be, give it a try. Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference.
These a just a few ways to make life better when you get into a time of frustration. They're certainly not meant to be the definitive things to do, but rather a few suggestions, if you're willing to listen to them.
