Dealing with Problems/Challenges
by Miki Saxon
Monday I said “Not all challenges can be overcome (more abut that Wednesday); sometimes you can find work-arounds, others you just need to accept.”
Based on the emails I received it’s a good thing I said we’d look at that idea Wednesday.
Before the Boomers people had problems, but after that giant wave entered the adult world “problems” morphed into challenges and challenges were something to be solved and overcome.
But is that always necessary?
Based on my personal experience I don’t think so.
Whether I consider it a problem or a challenge, here is what I do.
- Take a few steps back to get some perspective. I want to see the whole thing; not just the bit that has blocked me.
- Consider my approach; I can
- ignore it, detour around and continue down my path;
- identify exactly what is in my way and address only that part;
- develop a solution that eradicates it completely; and
- recognize and accept that it is completely out of my hands.
I start with my sixth rule; beyond that determining which of the three is applicable is a very personal decision. Over the years I’ve found the breakdown roughly as follows:
70% of the time I find number one works just fine.
20% fall in the second category.
8% have the capacity to pop up over and over and need to be solved.
2% are unsolvable and just need to be endured.
Flickr image credit: Eli Christman
