Letting go of frustration (about customers/clients)

Hi dear coaches, thank you once again for taking this time!

I am struggling slightly with the feeling of frustration lately, that comes up when a client at work asks me for advice while I have either already given them the answer to their question, or when they want something we can not offer (and they often know, but still press for it, which I don’t understand, but maybe I don’t have to… (?))
Anyway: I read in another post that one of the coaches typed: “There’s nothing wrong with feeling frustrated, annoyed and angry – if you like your reasons for feeling them, there may be a chance that this could be important for you to feel on purpose” –> this was so beautiful, and spot-on. I AM allowed, but I do not like my reasoning: clients are just doing their job as well, and maybe they had a bad day too.
But what happens now is that, when they ask me a question about something that is already known because I already helped them with this, I start to feel frustrated. And even though I try not to show that through my reaction towards them, it results in me lashing out towards my partners or colleagues afterward about the client, because I need to let out the frustration…

I would like to not lash out afterwards, or only just for a couple of minutes and then being able to let it go. Because right now, I can’t seem to let it go, which again frustrates me 😉

I feel a bit lost. Can you help?
Thank you, with lots of love!

 

 

 

Answer:

Here is the model I see here. You look at it and make any changes you see.

C: client asks: “(insert question you’ve answered before)”

T: I shouldn’t have to tell people something twice!

F: frustrated

A: judge them, spend a lot of energy on their question, hold back my emotions and then lash out at partners and colleagues,…

R: I think about their question twice or more

Can you see how your belief that people should only be told something once is causing you so much pain? You absolutely can keep this thought and you can allow the emotions that come with it.  You also could use this frustration to find ways to minimize repeat questions if you’d like and if it’s possible. Do some self reflection on how you want to communicate with people.

And also, you could explore letting go of this belief. What if humans need to be told something many times? Is there anywhere in your life where you need that? How do you want to be treated when you ask a question multiple times? See what comes up and bring back any models of questions that you find.