36 Quotes About Frustration

Frustration is a universal emotion, one that everyone experiences at various points in their lives. Whether it stems from personal setbacks, professional challenges, or unexpected life events, feelings of frustration can often leave us feeling stuck and overwhelmed. However, these moments of frustration can also serve as powerful reminders of our resilience and capacity for growth. In this curated collection of the top 36 quotes about frustration, you'll find words of wisdom from thinkers, leaders, and creatives who have transformed their own feelings of exasperation into inspiration. Let these quotes be a source of comfort and motivation as you navigate through the ups and downs of life, reminding you that you're never alone in your struggles and that each challenge presents an opportunity for transformation.

1. “Were you born this infuriating?""It's taken me years of practice.” - Misty Massey

2. “Did you seriously just stamp your foot? I thought girls only did that on TV.” - Stephenie Meyer

3. “Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.” - Eric Hoffer

4. “She’d ceased spying upon him, that was true, but the damage was done. Every time he sat at his desk, he could feel her eyes upon him, even though he knew very well she’d shut her curtains tight. But clearly, reality had very little to do with the matter, because all he had to do, it seemed, was glance at her window, and he lost an entire hour’s work.It happened thus: He looked at the window, because it was there, and he couldn’t very well never happen to glance upon it unless he also shut his curtains tight, which he was not willing to do, given the amount of time he spent in his office. So he saw the window, and he thought of her, because, really, what else would he think of upon seeing her bedroom window? At that point, annoyance set in, because A) she wasn’t worth the energy, B) she wasn’t even there, and C) he wasn’t getting any work done because of her.C always led into a bout of even deeper irritation, this time directed at himself, because D) he really ought to have better powers of concentration, E) it was just a stupid window, and F) if he was going to get agitated about a female, it ought to be one he at least liked.F was where he generally let out a loud growl and forced himself to get back to his translation. It usually worked for a minute or two, and then he’d look back up, and happen to see the window, and the whole bloody nonsense cycled back to the beginning.” - Julia Quinn

5. “It’s a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living goal.” - Steve Maraboli

6. “It's not like I'm all into nostalgia and history, it's just that I can't stand the way things are now” - Novala Takemoto

7. “Transformation is my favorite game and in my experience, anger and frustration are the result of you not being authentic somewhere in your life or with someone in your life. Being fake about anything creates a block inside of you. Life can’t work for you if you don’t show up as you.” - Jason Mraz

8. “All the energy of their frustration and fear going into their laughter.” - Hubert Selby Jr.

9. “...I will exile my thoughts if they think of you again, and I will rip my lips out if they say your name once more. Now if you do exist, I will tell you my final word in life or in death, I tell you goodbye.” - Knut Hamsun

10. “I, measuring his affections by my own,Which then most sought where most might not be found,Being one too many by my weary self,Pursued my humor not pursuing his,And gladly shunned who gladly fled from me.” - William Shakespeare

11. “Then I realised that I was the god on this occasion. I had tried to help the bluebottle, but it wouldn't let me. And then I felt sorry for God because I understood his frustration. Sometimes when people offer a helping hand, it gets pushed away. People always want to help themselves first.” - Cecelia Ahern

12. “Sooo, I'm tired of people thinking I'm a freak. I know you can't relate to that but -""Get over it already, will ya?" Candace stood. "You're not Smellody anymore. You're pretty. You can get hot guys now. Tanned ones with good vision. Not geeky hose jousters." She shut the window. "Don't you ever want to use your lips as something other than veneer protectors?"Melody felt a familiar pinch behind her eyes. Her throat dried. Her eyes burned. And then they came. Like salty little paratroopers, tears descended en masse. She hated Candace thought she had never made out with a boy. But how could she convince a seventeen-year-old with more dates than a fruitcake that Randy the Starbucks cashier (aka Scarbucks, because of his acne scars) was a great kisser? She couldn't.” - Lisi Harrison

13. “You’re frustrated because you keep waiting for the blooming of flowers of which you have yet to sow the seeds.” - Steve Maraboli

14. “It is okay of airing out your frustration, just don't dwell on them. Find out the cause and find a solution of getting rid of it. If you can't have the solution much as well accept it.” - Ann Marie Aguilar

15. “There is nothing worse than having an enemy who is a total loser. It's incredibly frustrating when seeking revenge against one, because you come to the realization that there is really nothing you can do to make the person's life worse than it already is. They have nothing to take, there is no way to screw them over if you have been their victim. It's maddening.” - Ashly Lorenzana

16. “No one is adequate to comprehending the misery of my lot! Fate obliges me to be constantly in movement: I am not permitted to pass more than a fortnight in the same place. I have no Friend in the world, and from the restlessness of my destiny I never can acquire one. Fain would I lay down my miserable life, for I envy those who enjoy the quiet of the Grave: But Death eludes me, and flies from my embrace. In vain do I throw myself in the way of danger. I plunge into the Ocean; The Waves throw me back with abhorrence upon the shore: I rush into fire; The flames recoil at my approach: I oppose myself to the fury of Banditti; Their swords become blunted, and break against my breast: The hungry Tiger shudders at my approach, and the Alligator flies from a Monster more horrible than itself. God has set his seal upon me, and all his Creatures respect this fatal mark!” - Matthew Gregory Lewis

17. “I had done all that I could, and no Man is well pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever so little.” - Samuel Johnson

18. “Ayla, what am I doing wrong?" he asked, standing in front of her, dripping. "It's not you. I'm the one who's doingit wrong." "You're not doing anything wrong." "Yes I am. I've been trying all day to encourage you, but you don't understand Clan gestures.” - Jean M. Auel

19. “Distress at losing an object can be as much a frustration at the intellectual mystery of the disappearance as about the loss itself.” - Alain De Botton

20. “Percy, we're going to Polyphemus' island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k...a C-y-k..." She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. We could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. "You know what I mean!” - Rick Riordan

21. “The Imagination merely enables us to wander into the darkness of the unknown where, by the dim light of the knowledge we carry, we may glimpse something that seems of interest. But when we bring it out and examine it more closely it usually proves to be only trash whose glitter had caught our attention. Imagination is at once the source of all hope and inspiration but also of frustration. To forget this is to court despair.” - William Ian Beardmore Beveridge

22. “[Y]ou are here to learn something. Don’t try to figure out what it is. This can be frustrating and unproductive.” - Steven L. Peck

23. “And I got out of there without punching anyone, kicking anyone, or breaking down in tears. Some days the small victories are all you achieve.” - Molly Ringle

24. “At times the whole world seems to be in conspiracy to importune you with emphatic trifles. Friend, client, child, sickness, fear, want, charity, all knock at once at thy closet door and say,—'Come out unto us.' But keep thy state; come not into their confusion. The power men possess to annoy me I give them by a weak curiosity. No man can come near me but through my act.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

25. “Forget perfect on the first try. In the face of frustration, your best tool is a few deep breaths, and remembering that you can do anything once you've practed two hundred times.” - Miriam Peskowitz

26. “I tried to scream like you once screamed God since I wanted to make the whole world faint but Harry Astley clapped his hand over my mouth O the sheer joy of feeling my teeth sink in.” - Alasdair Gray

27. “I clenched my teeth and fists to stop them biting and scratching these clever men who want no care for the helpless sick small, who use religions and politics to stay comfortably superior to all that pain: who make religions and politics, excuses to spread misery with fire and sword and how could I stop all this? I did not know what to do.” - Alasdair Gray

28. “I want to break something, or hit something, but I am afraid to move, so I start crying instead.” - Veronica Roth

29. “Often people that say they “don’t care” actually do. The moment they discuss you with their friends and family, compete with you, bad mouth you to others or react to anything you do or say is when they give themselves away. You can either be saddened or flattered that you effected someone so much. The perspective is yours to determine.” - Shannon L. Alder

30. “O Embaixador Campbell costumava dizer que os portugueses são um povo estranho, para quem um permanente estado de frustração é uma espécie de segunda natureza.” - Domingos Amaral

31. “Silence is the source of healing. When we bring things from within ourselves out into the light of awareness, a healing process happens. In the silence, we can let go of all anger, sadness, fear, loneliness and frustration.” - Swami Dhyan Giten

32. “Oh, how I longed to burst through the doors and go walking through the streets, with my hands open, like weapons!” - Marcel Béalu

33. “I swear, this stupid town. Why does every hideous supernatural thing that happens happen here? I'm gone for a few months and augh. Be right back. Grssll frrrsl rassle mrrrfl.” - Jim Butcher

34. “God is always trying to give blessings to us, but our minds are usually too full to receive them.” - Shannon L. Alder

35. “With a certain frustration I knew I spoke too soon, too urgently. I wanted to get out of the way the things I knew to say, wanted to say, the things I'd been thinking, all in the hope of moving into the unforeseen.” - Denis Johnson

36. “At the least, bear patiently, if thou canst not joyfully. And although thou be very unwilling to hear it, and feel indignation, yet check thyself, and suffer no unadvised word to come forth from thy lips, whereby the little ones may be offended. Soon the storm which hath been raised shall be stilled, and inward grief shall be sweetened by returning grace.” - Thomas A. Kempis