How to Turn Your Problems into Opportunities
We all have problems in life that crop up from time to time. Some have more problems than others but it is guaranteed that there will be problems at some time in your life. It is strictly up to you to decide whether everything in your life is a problem or whether everything is an opportunity.
I remember a saying by Cavett Robert who was the founder of what is known today as the National Speakers Association. This saying is, “life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds you down or polishes you up is for you and you alone to decide.”
I know some of you are probably thinking that this is either seeing the glass half-empty or half-full. I would like you to expand your thinking and think outside the glass instead.
Why don’t we say the glass is successfully half attempted or half opportunity waiting to overflow. In fact, why should we stop at the top of the glass at all? I really don’t see a reason to stop at the top do you?
Have you ever thought to yourself or said to yourself that, “everything would be just fine if I didn’t have to deal with these problems.” I am sure you’ve heard of that before or of even said something to yourself very similar before. We probably all of said something like this at one time or another.
I’m going to give you something to think about. What I want you to think about is this thought, “you can judge if a person is successful or not by the size of their problems.”
If they don’t have many problems, then they are probably not taking many chances or risks. If they have big problems, they’re probably taking big chances and risks and are trying to make a difference not only in their lives but probably in the lives of people around them as well.
For the most part, people believe that having problems and difficulties in their life is a bad thing. This is a massive misconception and also a complete lie. I believe that anyone can be happy, optimistic and joyful as long as everything is going along just fine.
If you want to see who someone really is, and what their true mindset is, then watch them when their life isn’t going according to plan. Watch them when life will throw them some curveballs and a few issues and situations they’ve got to figure out a way through.
Everyone has problems in their life to some degree, everyone. You may find this hard to believe but for some crazy reason, every single problem is usually presented with a solution within it. You just have to look a little closer and dig a little deeper and maybe take a look at the problem from a different angle or perspective and boom—there it is— the solution is right under your nose.
I would like to give you a real life problem that completely offered an unlikely solution. One of the key figures in organizing and building of Mother Teresa’s sisters of Charity, Father Angelo Scolozzi, had a big problem. He was looking for a motivated individual with very specific qualifications to help set up a program in Italy for recovering drug addicts.
Just about the same time Dr. Lou Tartaglia was working on a book of success stories in America. This book was about people who became very successful in their field. He decided that he would like to interview the most successful nun he knew and that was Mother Teresa.
He sat down with her and in his initial conversation found her to be a very pleasant and tiny woman. She teased him about the true meaning of success. As they were talking, father Angelo had arrived to meet with Mother Teresa. He was explaining to Mother Teresa that he was finding it extremely difficult finding a psychotherapist specialized in addiction and that also spoke fluent Italian.
Dr. Tartaglia overheard this and soon realized why he was there. He was there as a solution to their problem. He was that psychotherapist that they were looking for and he specialized in addiction and he spoke fluent Italian. They spent more than a decade working together and easing the suffering of many all over the world.
So what is the point in this? Problems are going to come and problems are going to go and your life is not going to be perfect every single day. You can have the most positive mindset and problems are going to crop up now then. That is reality and it is a fact and there’s nothing you can do to change that.
What I want you to get here is that problems are not the problem. These are just situations that are presented to you at different times. When presented with these problems you have two choices; you can see them as being destructive spirit breaking roadblocks in your life or you can see them as constructive, mind expanding opportunities that will help you problem solve and move forward to success. It is just that simple.
Encountering difficulties is just a part of life. Instead of saying why me, count yourself lucky as you have been chosen to seek out and learn a valuable lesson instead. Remember: the only people who don’t have problems are dead people.