A new course that I’m taking has a lot of discussion about current day situations and how we’ve change in the past few decades. One thing I read gives a great illustration of something I talk about regularly in my speeches, and with my clients the power of focus. But the statement that caught my eye said that as an American society, we are far more focused on problems than solutions. I totally agree!
There’s too many people who worn out from having their worry motor on 24×7, others are agitated by anxiety and suffering the effects of stress. I once had a client who came to me that was on 17 medications! 3 antidepressants, 3 anxiety meds and on it went. That was ridiculous and not the way to help someone resolve unhealthy emotions. It’s just band aids.
In order to solve the problems you have in your life, start by viewing them as opportunities. Ask yourself, “What will I learn from this experience? Where is this side journey taking me? Who will I meet on this path?” Life is full of opportunities, if you’re eyes and ears are open—meaning you’re living in a state of awareness—you’ll see them when they come your way and can take advantage of them.
If your problem seems to be more than you can deal with in this moment, stop and pick up a journal or notebook and write. Don’t think, just write. Get the emotions out that are inside of you and allow the anger, disappointment, hurt and tears to flow. Then follow this up with writing a list of at least 15 things your grateful for. It will immediately shift your focus and energy into a better place where you can begin to function again, despite the problems in your life.
If you are consumed with worry, stressed out and constantly complain about how horrible your life is, the resolution will take longer to find because you’re pushing it away. The more you focus on the problem, the bigger the problem can get and more problems will follow because that’s what you’re expecting to see—problems are all you’re looking for.
So whether you have problems or solutions is up to you—you have a choice how you view life and your current circumstances. So the next problem you encounter, instead of worrying, stressing out and having a panic attack, begin to look for the solution. Ask out loud for the solution to show up, when you keep your thoughts, conversations and focus on the solution it will show up faster than you expected. A simple, yet powerful way to change the trajectory of your life.
Lori Hanson
High Performance Strategies for Serious Success
