Discouragement shows that you are still attached to the result. The direct upshot of pushing too hard is frustration. You are in a state of tension. You get nowhere. Discouragement over your perceived failure in meditation: Discouragement arises because you haven’t found the right method.
Many people are like flies, attempting to fly out through the glass. Clearly, they can’t fly out, yet they persistently try. When they grow weary, they take a break and then resume their futile efforts, remaining stuck on the window. Likewise, in meditation, if a method proves to be wrong and leads to failure, you should find the reason behind it instead of continuing to repeat the same failure; otherwise, you will become discouraged. However, sometimes the method is right, but strength is insufficient, and that is also a reason for failure. At such times, you need to accumulate strength. It’s like if you can’t defeat someone in a fight, you should stop and go back to train. When facing failure, if you can quickly find the reason behind it, you won’t become discouraged.