Life is all About Solving Problems, Here is What You Need
All life is problem-solving
To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution. Marcus Aurelius
Problems are forever and we can’t avoid them.
How do you feel when you mow your lawn? Happy I guess.
That is how life is as well. To be happy, you need to solve problems.
Problems are part of our lives. And happiness is on the far side of the problems.
Overcoming those problems is what leads to self-improvement and happiness.
Life is a cycle of good times and bad. It’s not linear.
“We do not mature with age. We mature with the setbacks that we face in life!” ― Avijeet Das
Can one live a life without problems?
“Life without problems is like an ocean without water. Which is really impossible” ― Bilal Khan,
Living life itself is a challenge that one must fight to overcome. The mere fact that you are alive guarantees that you will struggle, no matter what.
A life without problem and challenges is a meaningless life. Which there isn’t actually. We’re not born with a meaning for our life. Meaning comes from learning who we are and growing as a person.
As Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for”.
Problems are inevitable in our life and that is why we need to always be ready for it when it shows up.
When grasses are overgrowing on your lawn, what do you do? You mow it down. And that is because you have your mow ready incase of anything.
Life’s about dealing with adversity and solving problems. Julian Edelman
Many people face challenges and problems in their life, but can’t find a way to solve it hence they find a way to avoid it. And avoidance lets you off the hook in the short term, but it doesn’t fix your problem. And oftentimes the problems you ignore compounds and get worse.
The most reason why people find it difficult to solve their problem is that they don’t have the necessary tools and mindset needed to solve their problem.
What you need to start solving your problems
Philosophy
One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt
What is your philosophy?
A philosophy of life is a total vision or attitude toward life and the purpose of it.
Your philosophy is your view of perspective towards life.
Everything hinges on our philosophy.
Your philosophy is what you know, how you hold what you know, and how it affects what you do.
Many people live their life without having any form of philosophy towards living. What that leads to is a haphazard way of living.
Without a personal philosophy, we end up living without direction.
Ryan Holiday wrote on why you need to study philosophy here. Because as he says philosophy cut across every area of our lives.
What a man does stem from his philosophy.
A positive philosophy turns into a positive attitude, which turns into positive actions, which turns into a positive result which turns into a positive lifestyle.
A negative philosophy turns into a negative attitude, which turns into negative actions, which turns into a negative result which turns into a negative lifestyle. Says Jeff Olson in his book The Slight Edge.
Our philosophy towards life is what shapes our view and how we overcome challenges.
What is your philosophy?
Mindset
“Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” ― Steve Maraboli
In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success author Carol Dweck delves into two different mindsets required for success: Fixed or Growth mindsets. She provides a comprehensive foundation of how to develop a growth mindset, which is aspiring toward continuous improvement and building on your successes.
It is no secret why successful people adopt the latter over the former.
How do you see problems and challenges?
Do you see a problem as projects that need to be solved or something to run away from?
Adopting the right mindset changes how we see challenges. And problems in our everyday lives.
Enjoying life starts with shifting our mindset, seeing things in a new way, because our brains are wired to heavily focus on the negative. Says Thomas Oppong.
It is one thing to have a philosophy and not having a growth mindset approach to things.
A growth mindset entails thinking of how you can develop yourself or your area of influence or any other thing that may require progression — Thinking of how you can better a situation or state.
All successful businessman, sportsman, artist, creatives all adopt a growth mindset approach to things.
Adopting a growth mindset approach to things lets us see problems as projects that need to be solved. And something to learn from.
Success is really about your mindset. F. Gary Gray
A Fixed mindset person says you need to have talent before you can become an artist. A person with a growth mindset says you can become an artist if you put in the work.
Like I wrote in my previous article you don’t have to be talented, just work hard is an example of how you can use a growth mindset approach to your advantage.
As Avijeet Das puts it Problems in life are the practical lessons that life wants us to learn from.
When you adopt a growth mindset approach, learning is inevitable for you. Cause only then can you be able to see where your flaws are and how you can improve on them.
When you begin to challenge your beliefs, things will start to become uncomfortable and we can either move forward into growth or safely back to our fixed mindset.
Having the right philosophy combined with a growth mindset helps you change and tackle the way you handle problems.
Develop Self-restraint by reducing your desires
By constant self-discipline and self-control, you can develop greatness of character. Grenville Kleiser
A lot of problems many of us face in these modern times is our lack of ability to control our desires.
We are controlled by our desires. Our desires are like human want that it is insatiable.
Not achieving what we desire sometimes leads to frustration and then depression.
Instead of making your desire as a want, make it a need.
Want is something we can do without. Need is something we can’t do without.
The problem is most people often confuse want with need.
Desires can lead to addiction if one is not careful. And addiction is what happens when we can’t control our desires.
You ask me how can desire help you solve life problems?
Most times, we stir up our own problem by desiring what isn’t within our control. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not. Remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Says Epicurus
As Epictetus puts it Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: some things are within our control and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquillity and outer effectiveness become possible.
Self-restraint is the ability you have against your desires says, Epictetus.
To be contented, you need to practice self-denial.
Can you desire something when you don’t pay attention to it?
What is it you pay your attention most to. You desire what gets your attention.
We live in a world where we have an excess of everything at our fingertips. From information to drugs, movies, sex, money and so on.
What information rather consumes is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of the recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
As Petra Ivanigova puts it we should be selective with our attention. Because attention feeds focus.
Desire demands its own attainment: Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers. Desires command us to run off and get what we want. Aversion insists that we must avoid the things that repel us.
When we don’t get what we want, we are disappointed and when we get what we don’t want, we are distressed.
Desire and aversion though powerful, are but habits. And we can train ourselves to have better habits.
Do your best to rein in your desire. For if you desire something that isn’t within your control, disappointment will surely follow; meanwhile, you will be neglecting the very things that are within your control that are worth if desire. Epictetus in the book The Art of Living.
