When Life Becomes A Problem To Solve
Everything Looks Like An Obstacle
It’s easy to see ourselves and our lives as a series of problems to solve.
I did and it leads down a path of discontentment, restlessness, and striving to prove yourself to others.
I had many problems to solve (Notice “I” am at the center of each one):
- How can I make enough money so that I finally can have this or be that?
- Why do I always feel so anxious and discontent with my progress?
- How can I fix it, avoid it, make it go away?
- What do I need to do to make this better?
- This isn’t right, how do I make it right?
- How do I become more confident?
As I was trying to solve all these, there were also emails waiting for my response, tasks to get done, due dates to hit, and results to acheive.
All of which were squeezing me and preventing me from truly creating the results I wanted to see, causing me to spend my day reacting to life rather than responding with intention and creativity.
I’ve found a better way for myself:
Instead of seeing myself as a problem to solve, I started seeing myself as someone to experience and my life as one great big creative work
Let me tell you what I mean…
You Can Solve All of Your Problems, And Still Not Be Any Closer to Your Goal
That’s a fact. I’ve experienced it, as I’m sure you have as well.
Spending all of my time trying to be less anxious, and more confident; or less overwhelmed, and more organized wasn’t getting me any closer to my goal.
Focusing on “getting my inbox to zero” wasn’t creating any results that moved me closer to achievement. Reacting to everyone’s requests, and trying to meet everyone’s expectations was keeping me stuck.
Progress requires focused action toward creating a vision for the future. You are unlikely to realize any type of vision when you are stuck on the wheel of problem-solving.
I’m learning I have to let go if I’m to move forward.
Even after I let go of solving everything, I still had to figure out how to get rid of and avoid the anxious thoughts and unpleasant feelings — At least, I thought I did.
It turns out this is just another problem to solve when instead you could…
Let the Unwanted Experiences Be There While You Take Action Toward Your Vision
Instead of solving the problem of how I felt, I learned that it wasn’t worth the battle.
Through specific mindfulness practice, I learned to create distance from my unwanted fears and anxieties, as well as the unhelpful thoughts that I was fighting against.
Pausing to experience what was there, I could diminish the energy blocks that were keeping me stuck and preventing me from pursuing my potential.
By getting familiar with my fears — really getting to know what they were and why they kept popping up — I was able to mute them into the background.
Doing so, left me much more mental space and energy for engaging in the creative work I loved.
When You View Your Life As A Creative Endeavor You Empower Yourself to Engage With It Fully
A paradigm-changing question I’ve learned to ask myself is, “What is it that I desire to create at this moment?”
Whether it is at work dealing with an upset customer; or just arriving home, stepping into the house — a home full of three girls under six years old and a wife that has been juggling her life and theirs for the past 12 hours, this question guides me toward my values.
We can really make our lives a living masterpiece. When we engage with it, taking action toward living our values, we become the artist of our lives.
So, Stop Seeing Yourself As a Problem to Solve. Instead, See Yourself as Someone to Experience and Your Life As A Living Masterpiece
“Be true to yourself, help others, and make each day your masterpiece” — John Wooden
