Overcoming Problems and Challenges

Hello, fellow thinker!

Want to wish you a healthy and fulfilling week this week.

No matter what challenges we face today, we will overcome them, and this too shall pass. ⌛

I was hanging out with some friends this weekend and one of the guys was telling me about some of his challenges. When I offered my consolatory remarks, he replied – “Everyone got challenges and we’re all dealing with something.“

It reminded me of this quote from Regina Brett - “If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.”

It’s true, isn’t it? We all have problems, and we all have to overcome our challenges. There’s just one way, and it’s straight through.

There are challenges we have control over and there are ones that we don’t. To me this is the baseline for problem-solving, which is - we must play with the cards we are dealt. What we do about it is up to us.

We can change the situation, or we can change the way we think about the situation.

Take, for example, the stress associated with impending deadlines or significant tasks. That very stress, while uncomfortable, catalyzes action. It drives us to go deep into the problem. Sometimes it keeps us up at night and we have nightmares about it.

Sometimes when you make yourself unavailable, the problems solve themselves, and that’s really nice when that happens. 🙂 At other times it requires a long-term approach.

My journey toward sobriety illustrates this: Through therapy, spiritual guidance, and continuous learning, I constructed a life driven by positive habits and values. This journey, consisting of both immediate and long term solutions, shows the remarkable capability of our minds to find answers, often when we are not thinking about them.

I often remind myself of our inherent ability to tackle any challenge that comes our way.

This is the process where we reconcile how we think about our current state against our future state. Our brains can give us answers to the problems we try to solve. Once we have that clarity, we can direct our energy towards activities that can bring us closer to the desired state. This can take a day or many years.

The important thing is to take action to achieve your desired future state.

When I do solve problems, I need to remind myself to stop and smell the roses. I spend way too much time trying to solve the problem and often not enough time celebrating the accomplishment.

Next time I overcome a challenge, I’m going to pause, reflect, and remind myself that I can solve any challenge.

When facing problems here are some nice things to think about:

1. Give yourself grace. Have confidence that you can solve challenges that come your way.

2. Do research. This requires courage for example there were many times I avoided researching personal finance because I was too ashamed of my lack of knowledge, or didn’t ask questions at work for fear of asking stupid questions.

3. Figure out What does “good” look like? Understanding this is crucial to know what the Goal is.

4. Sometimes before I go to bed, I ask myself: “What is the solution to Problem X?” and then go to sleep. When I wake up, or at some point later that day, the answer comes to me. 😊 It’s as clear as day.

5. Apply Parkinson’s Law. It says that work expands the amount of time allotted to it. Give yourself a time block and focus on a task in short bursts of focused work.

6. Practice Patience and know that the solution will present itself soon.

7. Trust yourself. You are very powerful. You can overcome anything.

8. Do the work to take you from your current state to your future desired state.

9. Talk to people whether it’s a therapist, a life coach, a mentor, or a stranger.

What tools do you use to solve problems and overcome your challenges?

Links to Stuff this week:

• 15 Effective Problem-Solving Strategies - ALUX.COM Video

• YouTube video about Parkinson’s Law

Keep thinking, my friends!

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