Problems are a dime a dozen. But the problem with problems is that most of us sit around and wait for them to get resolved all by themselves rather than working on them to find solutions. We hardly do anything to solve them. We just hope that things will get sorted out on their own with the lapse of time. And, we drift along with this fond hope.
We tend to lament that we are bombarded by problems. We wish we had fewer problems in life. We wish they would go away. That’s sheer wishful thinking. Why don’t we pick on our problems one by one and start working on them so that they would be sorted out one by one and disappear in due course of time? Problems won’t disappear on their own. We have to work on them and sort out our problems. We have to find solutions to our problems.
It is our general belief that life would be so much more enjoyable without problems. That’s absolutely true. But the secret to problem-free life is to deal with them as they come. You must learn to take problems in your stride. Because, whether you like it or not, problems are likely to crop up every now and then. But that’s no reason to surrender before your problems or get depressed.
If we are bogged down by multiple problems, the best way to deal with the situation is to make a list of problems at the time of listing. And assign some time to study them and work out solutions to all of them as early as possible. While we deal with the outstanding problems, new problems are bound to crop up. We have to add them to the list that we have prepared.
As we work on our problems with focus and resolve, they are bound to be sorted out one by one. Once that happens, we should strike them off one by one as they get resolved. When we see a decline in the number of problems, it will boost our confidence. We will no longer be resigned to the situation. We will no longer be the victim of our own belief that these problems cannot be solved or need not be solved on a daily basis. In fact, this will work like a shot in the arm and goad us to deal with the remaining problems with more grit and determination.
This way we will keep reducing the number of problems in our list. I do not say we will have a problem-free life after that. If that happens, nothing like that. But, the one thing that I can assure you of is that you will have fewer problems on your list if you keep tackling your problems as they come. It is only when we do nothing about our problems and let them pile up, that they seem to subdue us.
When we have fewer problems, it is easier to focus on them and sort them out. And, sorting out our problems will eventually become our second nature. It is only when we keep postponing our efforts to sort out our problems on time that they tend to build up into monstrous proportions and threaten to disrupt our peaceful life thereby resulting in stress.
It is not how many problems we are facing but how many of them we are solving that helps to improve our peace of mind. Our peace of mind depends on whether we are becoming a part of the problem by not trying to resolve them or whether we are constantly striving to solve the problems one by one. That is the moot point.
