An effective attitude to face the problems of life.
"Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness at which they were generated."
Albert Einstein.
Raise your hand if you have never faced a serious problem in their life!
Some personal growth authors argue that problems are the essence of life: with no problems to solve and challenges to face, our mind would slowly slip into irreversible laziness, characterized by a constant sense of dissatisfaction.
In short, problems represent unparalleled opportunities for personal development.
Dunno, it may be, but it seems to me a lot of bullshit Andre! I assure you that I would do without the many problems that haunt me: I just wish things were simple! I wish I had some c * lo!
In this article you probably won't find the solution to all your problems - tackling your problems is up to you. Instead, what you will find in this article is a new perspective to deal with the problems in your life GetPersonalGrowth.
What we almost always think about our problems
I don't quite remember in which personal growth book I first read this observation on life's problems, but I was particularly impressed by it as it fitted perfectly on some of the challenges I was facing at the time.
In this text it was argued that the vast majority of people associate with their own problems 3 features which make the solution particularly difficult: in short, they have an error mental attitude.
We could define these 3 characteristics, the 3 “P” of our problems. These 3 P's empower our problems, making things complicated for us. But let's see them in detail. Too often we consider the problems of our life:
- Permanent. There is a huge collection of songs, poems, articles, self-help manuals and even film monologues (Il Corvo: "It can't rain forever") that remind us that the problems we are facing in our life cannot last indefinitely. , that the storm will inevitably pass, leaving room for a clear sky. Yet ... when we are gripped by anxiety and worry, our minds despair, inexorably convinced that things will continue to go wrong, if not get worse.
- Pervasivi. Another characteristic that we often attribute to our problems is their pervasiveness, that is, their impact on our entire existence. In reality the vast majority of our problems are confined to a rather specific area of our life: our finances, our relationships, our physical well-being, etc. In a recent article ("New Year, New Life") I told you about how I am trying to pursue my goals with greater balance, just so as not to forget that our life is based on several pillars and if one of these gives way, we it is others who support us as we rebuild it.
- personal. The last mistake we make towards our problems is to take it personally: if we have a bad day, or a not particularly lucky period, we start to think that the whole universe is angry with us, that other people they do nothing but think of ways to harm us, and so on. In short, we feel plagued. The reality is quite different: the universe really cares little about our worries and other people care even less. In this regard, I suggest you read this article: "how to achieve your goals ... despite the bad luck".
It is useless for you to whistle pretending nothing happened, so much so I know that, at least, at least, you have associated at least 2 of these "P's" to your problems in the past (and maybe, even "in the present").
Hope this new awareness help you to look at your problems with new eyes.
But awareness is not always enough to best face our problems: we need a guided path, some holds to hold onto along our climb. That's why I would like to share with you a atteggiamento which I have found particularly powerful for dealing with problems.
An Effective Mindset: iPod Headphones
I don't know by what weird law of elementary physics, but the iPod headphones have the insane habit of tangling themselves in so complex knots that in comparison the knots of a skilled sailor as an arm wrestling give him a blowjob!
Here are just a few examples of the most spectacular knots that magically create in your pockets when you slip your iPod headphones into them for more than 2-3 nanoseconds:
Here ... I always thought that the iPod headphones are the perfect metaphor for our life and the problems we face.
Whether we want it or not, our life, like iPod headphones, will naturally tend to twist: new challenges to face, problems to solve ... knots to untangle.
When we are faced with these nodes we have 3 possibilities:
- Innervosirci and agitate trying to untangle these knots in a hurry. But as you well know, this approach is ineffective: the more we get angry the more the knots seem not to untie, on the contrary, they become even more intricate and tight and if we insist we only risk doing irreparable damage.
- Procrastinate solving the problem, putting the headphones back in your pocket to untangle the knot at another time. But even this approach is ineffective: our pockets are in fact bastards inside, and the more we procrastinate, the more the knots become complicated, forcing us to waste much more time than we would have lost if we had addressed the problem immediately. This is exactly one of the 4 costs of procrastination that I talk about in my Start! The Practical Guide to defeat procrastination.
- Face up to a little knot at a time, patiently, but relentlessly. Here, this is the only really effective method to untangle the knots and in general to solve the problems of life. Faced with a complex and problematic situation, all we should do is: (a) break down the problem into many less complex and easily tackable sub-problems (b) focus on one and only one of these sub-problems (c) act with patience, constancy and consistency.
What problems are you facing in your life? How could they be broken down into simpler problems? Are you applying the "1 rule"? Do you give up often or are you a real doc?
As mentioned, this article does not have the ambition to solve all your problems, but I am sure it contains interesting insights to allow you to at least start addressing your problems.
Post scriptum
Maybe at the end of this article you will be tempted to share the unsolvable problems of your life with the whole world. You will want to show that your problems cannot be addressed with some psycho-bullshit from a blog.
Damn if they take away the satisfaction of being the most unlucky person in the world: what the hell do you have left ?!
Here, in fact: stop being a whiner.
If you are reading this article on a computer screen, thanks to an internet connection, perhaps from your office or from your nice little house, you have less problems than 90% of the world population: so stop feeling sorry for yourself, take 100% responsibility for what you are experiencing and begins to untangle, slowly, but relentlessly, the "headphones of your iPod".
