“OMG! These people are driving me crazy!”

Have you ever had one of those kinds of days at work?

A while back I did. As positive as I was trying to be, on that day I was losing it. Thankfully, I had a friend who was a coach.

Coaching ethics dictate that when you’re having a regular conversation and you find yourself slipping into coaching mode, it should be announced. But not this day. I was breathing fire and there was no room for slipping anything. She jumped right in!

She helped me to explore the source of my frustration. Often times, frustration is not about what’s external. Instead it tends to be about what’s internal. We may think we are upset about something or someone “out there,” when really the source of the frustration is “in here.”

Deep down you feel powerless–powerless because you are unable to change the person because you cannot change people. That reality can be frustrating. But as my coach-friend helped me to remember it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be, because energy should not be wasted on wishing others to change. Instead your focus should go inward.

In times of breathing fire, focus on you. Ask, “What do I need to change about myself?” It may be your actions, your mindset or the story you are telling yourself. In my case it was my mindset. At the moment of insight, I remembered one of my favorite quotes from Wayne Dyer: when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

The anger lifted, the fire cooled and I felt better. The feeling of powerlessness was gone. As I reflected on the situation with my coach-friend, she celebrated my small win (against my ego) with a line I’ll never forget: “You pulled down your power Sheron!”

Since then, that has become my go-to line when frustration tries to set in, and today I share it with you. When you feel frustration rearing it’s head, adjust your focus and say, “I AM pulling down my power.”

If you’ve been inspired, please share your inspiration in the comments section and inspire others!