Tag: problems

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Parenting Cartoons

Life Can Be as Messy as a Stinky Diaper

life can be as messy as a stinky diaper sketch

In the early stages of parenting, a stinky diaper is the worst thing that can happen. As your kids get older, other stinky things occur. Yes, life can be as messy as a stinky diaper!

life can be as messy as a stinky diaper sketch
  • You’re not quite sure if the friend your child is hanging with is a good influence.
  • You’ve overcommitted and now you and your spouse are supposed to be at four different events at the same time.
  • You’ve stretched the checking account so far you could make a lethal slingshot out of it.

It doesn’t take much imagination to see the problems and distractions around us. The bigger challenge is to address the messy situations before they get out of control.

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motivation

You are Never Permanently Stuck

Illustration of a skier stuck in the snow. I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "snow."

We have the tendency to think that where we are at right now is where we will be for the rest of our lives. But we are never permanently stuck. Sure, today may be a puzzle for us.

  • The future is unknown
  • It may have always been this way
  • The trend points to the current outcome
  • There is no obvious solution

We can feel like a skier that is stuck in a snowbank.

Illustration of a skier stuck in the snow. I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "snow."

Discouragement can make us feel like giving up. We feel panic or a feeling of panic or despair well up within us.

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motivation

The Benefit of Problems

“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” Alfred A. Montapert

Happy Monday! Are you dreading it? Do you have a feeling there will be problems today? On one hand, I hope this day will go well for you. But on the other hand, I encourage you to embrace the benefit of problems, for there are a few.

“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.”

Alfred A. Montapert

That quote may not sound optimistic. You may be asking, “Why should I expect problems? Aren’t they the reason I’ll have a bad day?”

My answer is that we need problems to grow. Every problem is a challenge and every challenge is a learning experience.

strict female teacher with book pointing at scribbled blackboard
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

We have this mistaken notion that when we are in school, our goal is to answer enough of the questions on a test so that we never have to solve another one. Where did that come from? When school is done well, it prepares us to answer problems. A test in the classroom can prepare us for tests out in the real world.

Problems Exist

Problems exist, and that is good! Every opportunity came from a predicament that needed to be solved.

  • Thomas Edison had no need to invent the light bulb if gas lights were safe and efficient.
  • If a horse and buggy was fast and cheap enough, there would be no need for automobiles.
  • If humans had brains as fast as computers and we could handle all the data ever created, there would be no need for the electronic kind

That doesn’t mean all trouble is good or that it will make us feel great. There are some headaches that are out of our control. But there are others that have an answer within reach if we remain determined to stick it out and address the issue.

When trials come, consider if this is an opportunity. Is it something that requires a short-term or long-term solution? Instead of dreading them, let’s embrace the benefit of problems and eat them for breakfast!

Categories
motivation

Problems Exist, and That’s Good

cartoon of doctor and patient

“The adventure of business is to know the problems exist, to hunt and eliminate them, and to grow a culture that does this continually.”

Thomas Anderson in Changed People Change Process

Problems will continually pop up. They are like a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as you address and solve one problem, another one pops up… and that’s a good thing!

If problems didn’t exist, if things went smoothly all the time, what’s the point of work? It would become quite boring. There would be less need for creativity. Problem-solving can be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the business.

As the quote suggests, problems become an adventure. If you read a story where the protagonist has a smooth ride and faced no problems, what fun would that be? Adventures involve facing and solving problems.

Embrace problems, analyze and solve them. You may become the hero of your own adventure. You will improve. And you will have fun doing it!

Categories
motivation

Christmas Whining

Cartoon of two fish staring at a tree. One say, "Every Christmas, it's the same thing. When will they make a Christmas tree that won't float?"

If fish celebrated Christmas, they would need a Christmas tree that worked in their environment. They would need to adapt to the holiday traditions that could work underwater. Whining about traditions and customs that don’t work doesn’t help much.

Cartoon of two fish staring at a tree. One say, "Every Christmas, it's the same thing. When will they make a Christmas tree that won't float?" If a Christmas tree floats, find one that doesn’t!

Yet, how many times are people like the fish in this cartoon? We complain about things that we feel are out of our control instead of doing something about it.

  • We can change the situation
  • We can find the good side of a problem
  • We can find a solution that benefits everyone
  • We can let go of a tradition or custom in order to create a new, exciting one

Finding a problem is easy. Finding a solution and doing something about it is powerful.