How do I get past frustration

[Tuna4242]

I am just a noob trying to get faster, it has been years since I have touched a cube, and I picked the hobby up again because I thought it would help with my mental health.

I find myself frustrated, more frustrated than I thought I could get because I am making a lot of weird mistakes, there is nothing wrong with my hardware, there are no problems with my cube. I tried taking breaks, I tried doing different puzzles which don't frustrate me but each time I try to solve my 3x3 I do an alg wrong or it slips, or it falls out of my hands or I mess something up...all very basic and honestly kind of stupid mistakes. These mistakes are hard to weed out and they aren't helping my mental state, I just want to know what techniques people use to get past frustration because it's making me feel like I shouldn't even bother trying to improve.

 

[abunickabhi]

What are the weird mistakes that you are making?

Are you patient enough while solving your mistakes that you make while solving.

Also, whats your average time on the 3x3?

 

[Tabe]

I find myself frustrated, more frustrated than I thought I could get because I am making a lot of weird mistakes, there is nothing wrong with my hardware, there are no problems with my cube. I tried taking breaks, I tried doing different puzzles which don't frustrate me but each time I try to solve my 3x3 I do an alg wrong or it slips, or it falls out of my hands or I mess something up...all very basic and honestly kind of stupid mistakes. These mistakes are hard to weed out and they aren't helping my mental state, I just want to know what techniques people use to get past frustration because it's making me feel like I shouldn't even bother trying to improve.

You could try to stop timing yourself. What you're describing sounds like nerves so perhaps removing the "pressure" of the timer will alleviate the nerves.

You could try solving slower to focus on being smooth.

You may also just need to do more solves. Relax. There's no deadline for you to improve. If you're not faster a week from now, so be it.

Personally, when I get frustrated, I either change puzzles or stop solving or work on learning a new alg.

 

[Cubing Forever]

Try not timing yourself for a few days. You can lose the nerves of the timer by doing this.

 

[CrispyCubing]

All of the above is good advice. Here’s one strategy that I have to add: At the end of every solve, think back to one thing that you know could have been better. (Could be efficiency or a fingertrick. Anything.) If you can’t remember anything then try focusing more on the next solve. This helps you become more aware of (and more comfortable with) your mistakes. A lot of this depends on your average though.

 

[Tuna4242]

What are the weird mistakes that you are making?

Are you patient enough while solving your mistakes that you make while solving.

Also, whats your average time on the 3x3?

Well I don't really time myself often since I make a lot of mistakes when there's a timer in front of me but when i time i get a bit over a minute usually. I am trying to get sub 1.

 

[Tuna4242]

All of the above is good advice. Here’s one strategy that I have to add: At the end of every solve, think back to one thing that you know could have been better. (Could be efficiency or a fingertrick. Anything.) If you can’t remember anything then try focusing more on the next solve. This helps you become more aware of (and more comfortable with) your mistakes. A lot of this depends on your average though.

I am fully aware of my mistakes, the problem is, I cannot stop making mistakes, my cube will fall out of my hands, or the e slice would turn somehow, or I would not be able to turn one of the sides (often d side is very hard to turn).

 

[Tuna4242]

I don't know why, I swear I am not gripping my cube weirdly, but sometimes a side will turn when I am not at all turning it or a side will refuse to turn and I genuinely find it difficult to move the side at all no matter how much force I use, I am trying to consider where all my fingers are at all times, making SURE I am not blocking things and making sure I am gripping correctly. I don't use a bad cube, my cube is great it's an 11m pro, I just get so angry when a side refuses to turn at all no matter what.

 

[Jonathan Cuber]

i also get frustrated sometimes but I try to remember how much I have improved and how much have I got to learn

i sometimes take the cube and look at the possible outcomes or i just take a break

or I switch to another puzzle

I also took a break for a year and when I first touched I was also making the same mistakes as you were
i just told myself that i'll get used to it again


so don't worry

 

[PetrusQuber]

I am fully aware of my mistakes, the problem is, I cannot stop making mistakes, my cube will fall out of my hands, or the e slice would turn somehow, or I would not be able to turn one of the sides (often d side is very hard to turn).

How is the cube actually falling out of your hand? Does it slip somehow?

And if it’s a Gan 11 M Pro, it shouldn’t be sticking like that. A solve video would help see how the mistakes are made and if your cube is defective

 

[DaString]

Try to slow down your turning speed. You dont need to turn really fast to get good times.

 

[Llewelys]

You can also drill the algs that give you trouble, but don't focus on how fast you execute them, focus on using the proper fingertricks and not locking up.

 

[Petrus_EW]

As stated above, try to solve it slowly. If you are learning new algorithms, learn to solve them slowly, repeating them over and over again if necessary. If they are movements that are uncomfortable for your tricks with your fingers, look for other algorithms that are easier for you to perform tricks with your fingers and practice slowly, little by little you can increase the speed.

 

[povlhp]

Try to focus on what goes wrong.
if E turns you hold it wrong. If you drop it you hold it wrong.

 

[jdh3000]

I am just a noob trying to get faster, it has been years since I have touched a cube, and I picked the hobby up again because I thought it would help with my mental health.

I find myself frustrated, more frustrated than I thought I could get because I am making a lot of weird mistakes, there is nothing wrong with my hardware, there are no problems with my cube. I tried taking breaks, I tried doing different puzzles which don't frustrate me but each time I try to solve my 3x3 I do an alg wrong or it slips, or it falls out of my hands or I mess something up...all very basic and honestly kind of stupid mistakes. These mistakes are hard to weed out and they aren't helping my mental state, I just want to know what techniques people use to get past frustration because it's making me feel like I shouldn't even bother trying to improve.

I've cubed 3x3 for years... I'm 18 second average, and I still make weird mistakes from time to time.
I go through spells where I wonder if I can actually so as well as I normally do.
At times I do better, getting 16 seconds more consistently, then loose that stride.

The best I find when fruatration sets in, and just taking breaks doesn't help, just change the focus. Drop the goal of getting better, getting faster, and just cube with nothing in mind other that just feeling the cube turing in my hands, no timing, no thoughts of improving; I go slow, I go fast, just get lost in the process.

Then when I come back to examining what I've done, I may or may not have improved, but the frustration is gone and I can at least focus on my weak spots.

I sometimes switch to other methods in order to fight frustration; I practice one handed, petrus, roux, zz, and lately been doing more blindfold solving which I only get right half of the time.
I'm not real good at these, but it reboots my cfop solves and tells me how much better that is than these others.

 

[qwr]

I get frustrated when I mess up cross and f2l. that's usually when I'm being careless and not thinking my moves through.

 

[beingboring]

I came to cubing much later in life, as a way to help me understand what it feels like to learn something new (I was 49 when I started). Without knowing you, it is hard to give you advice, but I can share some thoughts about what worked for me, when I had similar challenges.
1. This should be fun. Challenging, yes. But if it is making your miserable, it's a good idea to stop for awhile.
2. Turn slow. Consciously slow. Think about what move you are going to make, and then make it. This goes for all aspects of the solve when you are first learning. Speed will come with time, but some of what you are experiencing seems tied to attempting to go too fast.
3. If you are learning full OLL/PLL - drill your algs. Slowly at first.
4. Drill a scramble. After you solve a scramble, use the same scramble again and pay attention how you are holding the cube. What moves are you doing?
5. Think about not using a timer, at least for the time being. My biggest decreases in time always come after a period of non-timed solving. My biggest increases in time always seem to come after learning new algs, and I always get worried, but then after practice the new algs typically lead to a speed increase.
6. I'm curious about what type of cube you are using. If you do not have a speed cube, consider getting something like the RS3M 2020 (MoYu). It's $9 and it's great. I've tried to solve on an original rubik's, and I find it so hard to fluidly turn, that I simply forget the muscle memory of the algs.
7. Lastly - it might be a good idea to record your solve on your phone. When you watch it back, it might give you some insight as to what is going wrong.

Best,
BB

 

[cmhardw]

Practice when you enjoy it, and stop for a while when you don’t.

Compete inwardly and not outwardly. Compare yourself to your skill last week/last month/last year and not to someone else’s skill now.

Watch this video

Watch it again

Realize that getting fast quickly is not even remotely required. I’ve been cubing 22 years and only recently got my global 3x3 avg down to 13.5 with a sub-12 pb average of 12 and a 8.00 single. I have always been very slow on the curve of how long it takes to improve. I still enjoy cubing, so I still improve. Yes it is frustrating to improve slowly, so when you get frustrated take a break and do something else for a while.

Have fun and good luck on your improvement journey!

 

[Tuna4242]

I've done some testing and I thought I was crazy at first but I swear, I SWEAR TO GOD that a layer locks up sometimes, like the magnets are REALLY strong, I have them as weak as possible though, The yellow side especially is unusually strong even on identical settings and when I tried OH, it physically hurt to turn certain layers a single time, and when a layer is hard to turn my ring finger has to adjust but it over adjusts and starts blocking the turn, which means I have to reset and hope the layer turns this time.

 

[Llewelys]

It's entirely possible your cube has a defect. Have you tried contacting the shop you bought it from?