Life and problems are two inseparable things. If you live, you will experience problems, whether you like it or not. As a matter of fact, the more active you are and the more vivid your life is, the more problems you will have. They simply come with the package.
But because life can sometimes be very confusing, difficult and even devastating, it is extremely important that we learn how to cope with it correctly. Below you will find five tips on how to solve problems in life effectively and with the least amount of consequences to your mental well-being.
1. Understanding your problems
The first tip on how to solve problems in life requires you to understand and evaluate your problem(s).
Chances are that you don’t have just one problem. Maybe you have two, three, four or more. If this is the case, you need to prioritize your problems in a way in which you don’t end up doing the wrong things first.
Ever heard of the book “Eat That Frog!: Twenty-one Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time“? Basically, the book teaches how to organize your day in the most efficient way, getting rid of the most difficult tasks first.
When dealing with a problem in life, it’s very similar to dealing with daily tasks. First, you understand what that problem (task) is, and then you compare it to all of the other problems in order to understand what you should complete first.
The image above illustrates the famous Eisenhower’s urgent important principle.
- Is your problem not important and not urgent? If so, forget about it.
- Is your problem urgent, but not important? If so, either also forget about it or delegate it to someone else.
- Is your problem important, but not urgent? Well, in this case, you better start working on it soon, or otherwise, it will become important and urgent!
- Finally, is your problem important and urgent? If the answer is yes, then this is the first problem that you should tackle.
As you can see, there is a pretty systematic way of understanding and approaching your problems. I highly recommend that you use the Eisenhower’s urgent important principle in your daily life.
2. Don’t blow everything out of proportion
The second tip on how to solve problems in life is about you staying calm.
As humans, we have a tendency to blow everything out of proportion. “Oh my god, I’ll never be able to overcome this. It’s horrible, it’s the end of the world!!! (the pitch of the voice going really high)”. Sound familiar?
When you have a problem, never make any assumptions or guesses regarding how horrible a problem is. Analyze the problem first.
I understand that panic may often be the first natural reaction to a serious problem, but don’t react so fast. Instead, calmly respond to the problem. Ask yourself, how bad can this really be?
Most of the time, you will come to the conclusion that your problems aren’t really all that bad. This becomes especially clear when you compare your problems to the problems of other people. This is something I recommend you do from time to time, as it really helps to remove some of the unnecessary stress and to understand that everything in this world is relative.
3. Evaluate its meaning in your life
The third tip on how to solve problems in life requires you to evaluate the meaning that the problem carries into your life.
In a way, many of your problems are a blessing. If we wouldn’t have problems and challenges, we wouldn’t be able to overcome anything and therefore to grow and develop.
As a child, you first learn to crawl. For a while, that is enough for you to get around. But soon enough, you see that everyone else moves a lot faster than you do. As a result, the problem of you not being able to move around quickly forces you to learn how to walk.
You get up on your feet, you fall and get hurt. You repeat the process for as many times as you need until you finally learn how to walk using only your two legs. Sure, the process was stressful and even painful. But in exchange for your effort, you were given something much more valuable than what you already had – the ability to move around fast.
Treat your life’s problems just like you treat the need to walk – as something necessary for a better life.
4. Break it down into smaller pieces
The fourth tip on how to solve problems in life requires your to break down your problem into many smaller parts.
As already mentioned, when something major negative pops up into our life, our first reaction is to overexaggerate and to blow everything out of proportion. We panic. This prevents us from seeing the problem for what it really is – possibly an opportunity for growth.
However, one other reason why problems often seem to be much bigger than they really are is because we look at the peak of the problem without looking for ways to solve it.
Imagine that your job lets you go because they are not able to afford you anymore. You look at being jobless and that’s it.
I agree, there is nothing good about having no stable income. Anyone will stress over this. Fortunately, you can approach the problem in a different way.
Begin to break up your problem into many smaller pieces that, on their own, don’t seem to be much of a problem. For example, today you can think about your next plan of action. Tomorrow, you will register on Linkedin. The day after that you will update your CV. On the fourth day, you will begin to contact new companies for open vacancies. Every day the tasks keep evolving and you get closer to solving your problem.
By chunking your problem down into many smaller actionable tasks, you make your life much easier and your problems less scary.
Recommended read: 5 Powerful Goal Setting Tools to Spark Your Achievements
5. Don’t lose sleep over it
The last tip on how to solve problems in life is about you actually dealing with them.
Once you have understood what your problem is, the level of the impact that it will have on your life, the benefits that it may secretly include, and all of the things you can begin doing in order to solve it, it’s time to take action.
Some time ago, I made a mistake that could have cost me over $3000. Honestly, it was very stressful and I even had a hard time falling asleep on certain days.
Fortunately, though, I soon realized that the worst thing that could happen would be me losing my money. Yes, it wouldn’t be fun at all, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world either.
After having come to terms with my problem, I was finally able to relax. I promised myself that I would do all that I can in order to fix the problem, but if I wouldn’t succeed, I would consider this as a valuable lesson learned.
What I am trying to say is that problems are ok. They have always been a part of life, are and always will be. If you don’t have problems in life, then you aren’t living. So whenever the problems do come around, don’t panic, take full responsibility for them and start looking for ways to solve them.
Whether you succeed in solving your problems or not, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is your attitude towards them. Will your problems break you apart or will they make you stronger? It’s always your decision, your call.
Thank you for stopping by and good luck!
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