How Do You Face Problems?
The other day I listened to a short meditation about problems and it got me thinking. On any given day (or even every day) you may wake up and be overwhelmed or upset by all the “problems” in your life and I wanted to write about what you can do about it.
So what is a problem? The dictionary states it’s “a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.”
Problems arise daily, like the deadlines at work. They could be as big as not knowing what you want to do with your life. Maybe they’re small, like being hungry but not knowing what to eat. If I told you to sit down and write out all the problems in your life, I bet you could think of a couple (or a f**k ton) of things.
The real question is what do we do with these problems? Do we let them cause stress or is it possible to actually enjoy them?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your daunting list of problems, ask yourself “do you really want to be this stressed out right now?” (I’m going to guess no). We can let our thoughts and emotions control us OR we can control them. You might be thinking, “uh…no” or “easier said than done,” right? It definitely isn’t easy, but it is truly possible to be mindful of how you are thinking and feeling and shift your perspective so that problems don’t actually feel so unimaginably overwhelming. For example, if they aren’t “big problems” and you can easily deal with them, just start taking action and take it one step at a time. If it’s something you can’t control, why cause yourself unnecessary stress by worrying about it?
The second thing to ask, “Were you really expecting to have no more problems at some point in your life?” We wake up faced with one problem after another Every. Single. Day. There’s traffic. You lost something. You missed an appointment. We run into problems all the time but here are a few thoughts I want you to take with you for how to deal with them:
Find problems you WANT to be solving. Choose a career that comes with sets of problems you enjoy figuring out.
Take it one step at a time. Everything is overwhelming when you zoom out too far, focus on the task at hand.
You can find peace in uncertainty. Even if you don’t have control or know how to solve something, you can find the little things in life that are still beautiful.
Sometimes it can be difficult to put our challenges into perspective on our own, so if you’d like some help, get in touch.