If you were to ask people what they’d most like to eliminate in their life, they’d usually answer about all the problems they are facing. “If I could just get rid of these problems, then life would be good.” However, this really isn’t true. Our problems are not the problem. If we got rid of all our problems, we’d have a new problem – boredom.
The real problem is in how we view and deal with problems. It’s all in the story we tell ourself about the problem and the meaning we give it.
Problem View
If your boss walks up to your desk and says, “Hey, we have a problem,” what immediately comes to mind? You’re probably thinking this story around what the boss just said, “Uh oh! This is bad. Am I being blamed for something? I could lose my job. The boss is not happy.” The meaning you give it is that something bad is about to happen. You go into fear – fear of job loss or punishment. And now you’re possibly thinking, “I’ve got to get rid of this problem as fast as possible. And if that’s not fast enough, maybe I can put it on someone else.” This is how many people view and respond to problems.
The real truth, though, is that problems grow us. It stretches our ability. It expands our capacity to take on more. We get to tap into creativity, gain a better understanding, and grow as a person. Without problems, we would all stay the same, nothing would change, and we would actually shrink our capacity. We call this, “stagnation.”
What if instead of seeing it as a problem, we saw it as a challenge, a puzzle to solve, or an opportunity? Could re-labeling it help you engage the situation differently? Might this help you be in a better place to bring resourcefulness and creativity Might you see opportunity that you would otherwise miss?
My Experience
A number of years a go, I worked for a boss who would never say, “we have a problem.” He always said, “I have an opportunity for you,” or “I have a challenge for you.” The team would all laugh at this. We knew that something had come up that needed fixing. We translated this as, “I have a problem,” and we thought he was just being funny. But now after all these years, I really appreciate his choice of words. In the moment when he said, “I have an opportunity,” I never froze up with fear. Blame didn’t enter into my thoughts. I usually went into a good mental state to face the challenge. I took care of it, and we moved on.
The challenge I put to you is to make a shift. Instead of trying to get rid of your problems, how can you welcome problems when they come and thrive on them? How can you see challenges in your life as a growth opportunity rather than a problem to just be rid of?
