One of the main reasons for stress is our resistance to problems.
Let’s say we’re trying to do something and things are not going our way – there’s an obstacle after obstacle, after obstacle. And in the meantime the bills are piling up, people are demanding results, things threaten to fall apart, etc. Of course we get stressed! Of course we wish these infernal problems went away! Of course we resent those obstacles!
Wouldn’t it be nice if things just ran smoothly, as they should? Wouldn’t life be so much easier if things just worked out? But that is not how life works. The reality is that there will always be problems and we better learn to deal with that fact.
When things are not working as they should, we get upset, disheartened and stressed.
This is because we’re focused on the end result and we’re seeing it as our goal. If instead we learn to see the entire process as our goal – the initiation, the problem solving and the end result – our resistance to problems goes away and with it does the stress.
So if you start seeing yourself not just as a person who achieves goals but as a person who solves problems, you will stop stressing and even begin to get a sense of satisfaction from being a good problem solver.
Don’t wish your problems away. It won’t work anyway, and even if it did, you’d never learn anything or do anything worthwhile. Instead, re-frame and become a great problem solver, because at the end of the day, that’s what you really are and that’s what you’re here for.
To your success!