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.
We can feel like a skier that is stuck in a snowbank.
Discouragement can make us feel like giving up. We feel panic or a feeling of panic or despair well up within us.
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.
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, and that is good! Every opportunity came from a predicament that needed to be solved.
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!
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.
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.
Finding a problem is easy. Finding a solution and doing something about it is powerful.
From Fast Company:Brainstorming, thinking outside the box, working with free reign on a project–they’re old creativity maxims, but how well do they really work?
Last night, I had a cartoon to draw. My old laptop is showing it’s age. It’s slow. I upgraded the system software and now it won’t play nice with my old drawing tablet. I may have chucked it all in if I didn’t need to send a cartoon out.
Then I remembered the article from Fast Company. I smiled when I read it because my high school graphic design teacher always proclaimed to the class, Limitation is the Basis of all Creativity! It’s the constraints that cause us to think in creative ways.
Of course, that doesn’t work if you see constraints as obstacles that cannot be overcome. Each time we face a problem, we can rationalize why things won’t work, or we can get creative and find a solution perhaps no one has thought of before.
Every challenge, every constraint gives us an opportunity to think creatively. Look at those limitations as an opportunity to think outside of the box.