Harnessing the Power of Problems

Yesterday I came across a concept, that might not strike you at first, but when you invest some more thinking into it, it can have a huge outcome on how you perceive your current problems.

So what really is a problem?

In the dictionary it says:

A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.

Basically, it' just something I don't like or don't know how to tackle. But that does not immediately imply that it's as harmful and shit as we think. We just give it that label.

In most cases, you could also call it various other terms:

• Something you don't quite understand
• Something that bothers you
• A neutral occurence in life
• An opportunity

But apart from its perspective, let's just focus on the term "problem".

Choose a random thing in your life that you would consider, as of right now, a problem.

Now ask yourself, why did you give it that exact name?

I can tell you from personal experience, that the only reason why I consider it a problem is because I don't know how to solve it.

Because if I knew how to solve it, it wouldn't be a problem.

Boom. How cool is that? Read it again.

It's only a problem because you don't know how to solve it.

And that's totally okay.

So in order to solve it, you will need to become the person that is able to do that.

How many times do we think about random stuff happening to us and immediately use the term "problem"? It's simply an indicator that there is something out there that we're not familiar with.

You might not have an immediate answer. Or maybe you do, but just don't know how to proceed with your current knowledge, and therefore, you can't perceive the situation from another angle.

This requires a character change so that your future persona will not label it as a problem anymore, but as something that just exists.

Example.

Imagine you want to travel to different countries, but the thing that's holding you back is money. You just dont have the necessary resources to do what you want. I would consider that a money problem.

So what do you have to do to get rid of the label "problem"?

Well, you would need to become the person that is able to generate a specific amount of money, (which everyone defines for themselves) so that you can have the freedom to travel.

Right now, you might not have the necessary skill set to accumulate that sum.

But once you acquire skills, needed to provide you with that income, getting money is not a problem anymore, because you know how to get it. You're the guy that transformed and made past problem disappear.

A more relatable example is starting to fly alone.

Being at the airport with your parents was always chill, and if it was hectic, it certainly wasn't for you.

But being on your own for the first time, can be really intimidating. You might think you'd get lost at the airport, go to the wrong gate, miss your flight or picture other worst-case scenarios.

After catching many flights, I can tell you, going to the airport by myself, is not a problem anymore.

I have become the person who has exposed myself to the unknown and if I want to book a flight and travel on my own, I don't see the process of going there as an obstacle, but simply as a way to get to my destination.

This might seem evident, but give this thought some attention and apply it to your current problems and you'll see how you can reframe the whole situation.

Conclusion

In the end, the problem becomes an opportunity to grow, so that your future self will no longer see it as such.

This is especially important to understand when it comes to things you're not willing to get after. Constantly contemplating and not working on yourself will leave your future self with the same "problem" you're struggling with right now.

The feeling of not being happy about your body, will not just go away. It will haunt you for the rest of your life unless you do something about it.

Just ignoring things in favor of your comfort, might feel good in the short term, but that's not the game we're playing.

You have to become the person that is able to solve this problem. And I heard this sentence many times in the last few years, but only yesterday, this phrase caught me at the right moment and I actually paid attention to its meaning.

And here is one thing you have to understand: You're not the person that you aspire to be. Not yet.

Thats why you still make mistakes that prevent that from happening. And this is where it gets frustrating, because your standard is (hopefully) measured against the better version of you.

But you have to make mistakes so that you understand what's working for you and what's not.

Its just growth man.

And that won't stop, at least not for me and you!

Beautiful.