How well do you handle your problems? Think back to the last
on you faced. Did you stand up to it or were you intimidated by it? Did you
look for ways to solve it or did you ignore it, hoping it would go away? We all
have problems we wish would disappear, but realistically, that doesn’t often
happen. So we need to face our problems and develop a good attitude about them.
And when you view your challenges as opportunities, it’s easier to stand up to
them and therefore, to solve them.
Here are four specific steps you can take to help you move
from problems to solution.
Be Still. Whatever you do, don’t run from your problem. It
will find you. You may get a temporary reprieve, but you will eventually come
face-to-face with the problem once again. Running away also causes confusion
within your mind, and a good solid solution cannot come from chaotic thinking.
On the other hand, if you stay still and face your problem, your mind can
remain calm. Answers become clearer.
Sharpen Your Mind. This step should really be an ongoing
process, but if it hasn’t been so for you, now is the time to start. Sharp
minds cut through problems, breaking them down so that they aren’t at all
overwhelming. How sharp is your mind? If you’ve let your mind get dull, you can
take charge and resharpen it. This way you’ll be in top-thinking form when
problems come. If a person reads, he will sharpen and toughen his mind. Read
about international events. Get a weekly news magazine and read it through. Then
get deeper reading matter on international affairs. Get a tough book. How long
has it been since you’ve wrestled with a tough book? I mean a really tough one,
one so hard to understand that maybe even the author was straining his own
understanding when he wrote it.
Know That There Is A Solution to Every Problem. We will all
face incredible problems in our lives. Some of these problems will seem so
large and cumbersome that our sharp and calm minds will not be able to
immediately see beyond the trouble at hand. At times like these, we must
remember that there really is a solution to every problem. I believe this
because I’ve observed that the world is based on a system of opposites. This is
the way God made the universe: night and day, love and hate, young and old, up
and down and so on. It naturally follows that wherever there are problems,
there are solutions.
God permits problems to exist for the ultimate benefit of
mankind. It is from problems, hardships and suffering that we learn some of
life’s most valuable lessons. We become better, stronger people. Businessman
and author W. Clement Stone has always had a terrific outlook on problems. “A
problem is always good,” he said “It means we may find a better way of doing
things” Stone has spent his entire life taking problems apart. He believes
without question that every problem has its solution, and that anyone can find
it if he believes he can.
Keep Your Eyes Open. I tell you this because I want you to
be aware of the good that can come out of a problem. I share W. Clement Stone’s
philosophy: Problems can lead us to a better way of doing things; whether it’s
running a business or the way we conduct our personal affairs. I’ve seen
problems change the way people live: alcoholics who have hit bottom turn around
and become productive citizens; welfare mothers who strive for independence and
gain it’ poverty-stricken youth who work hard to rise above their experiences;
failed businesspeople whose beliefs in their own abilities lead them to
eventually success. It’s as though life’s deepest punches awaken the greatness
of some individuals and they are the ones who truly define what it means to be
an optimist.
Some people think optimism as something cheery. But true
optimism is not super-cheeriness. It is the belief that the good in life
out-balances the evil, and that always behind a difficulty there is an inherent
good.
Remember, never run and hide from your problems. Instead,
greet them with the attitude of a conqueror.
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