For every problem, there is a solution. Focusing on possibilities will generate great solution(s) to each problem we face.
In this great journey of Life, we as humans seem to experience challenges, obstacles, and problems along the way. How we think about problems and deal with them will make a big difference in our level of happiness and sense of fulfillment in life. Knowing a few “tricks” of the trade will give you a refreshing outlook and a jump-start on your ability to flow with the “speed bumps” of Life:
1. Problems are a given. You won’t feel surprised or picked on when you realize that we all experience obstacles and setbacks on our way to our dreams. We get to choose our attitude about our problems. If we tell ourselves, “This is going to be hard,” it will be hard. If we tell ourselves, “This is going to be easy,” guess what—it will be easy. Instead of seeing your problems as boulders, see them as stepping stones leading you to a higher way of being.
2. Learn from your past experiences, and let them go. We usually judge our experiences as good or bad. What if they are just learning opportunities? Even though some of them may have felt painful, your greatest opportunity is to find something positive—what you learned about yourself in that situation. You cannot change the event, but you can change how you think and feel about it. Teach yourself gently, and live in the present moment. It’s like driving down the highway in your car and not looking in your rear-view mirror. When you are so focused on the moment of NOW, you’ll automatically let the past go. (Remember, the brain thinks only one thought at a time!)
3. Think out of the box. Albert Einstein keenly observed, “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.” To start moving to a new level of thinking, imagine what life would be like and how you would feel if the problem did not exist. Brainstorm and write down positive new ways of thinking, being, and doing.
4. Focus on the solutions, not the problem. Now that you have some new possibilities, you’ll feel better because you’ve created some different choices for yourself, where you may have thought there were none—and that’s always empowering. Start thinking about your new choices and trying out some of the possible solutions. Action is the key to getting yourself unstuck and moving on with life.
Problems and challenges sometimes just test us—they ask, “How much do you really want this?” Life is serious business in the sense that we are responsible for our thoughts and actions. If, in the process, we can take our problems—and ourselves—more light-heartedly, our problems will transform into possibilities; and we’ll experience greater joy, satisfaction, and peace in our lives.
