Problems

If there was a buzz word that had been almost a static trend, it has to be the word “problems”. Club this word with drinking, obesity or anything else you can think of, and you have got yourself a trending Google search in at least one region of the world. While, I will not take up the initiative of solving all of world’s problems, let’s try to find a way to at least gain some perspective into this ever-present facet of life.

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.

Robert Schuller

It has been a while since I last wrote anything (I have written this statement almost as many times as I have written articles on this website), and a lot has changed since then. The world reopened and it is closing once again. News channels still have something or the other to show, apart from news. I am working full-time now, however, I still spend almost my entire day in front of a computer screen. Wait, why did I started off by saying a lot has changed since the last time I wrote? It’s very close to where we were. I am just going to just pick up where we left off.

The other day, I was looking at the aforementioned news channels, cascading the feed from multiple channels, and yet not feeling like I was missing anything at all (That’s a problem in itself that cannot be addressed without my using profanity, and I want to keep this as non-PG as possible). Anyway, the over-thinker that I am, I started to analyze the trend of these news channels, and how they have content at all times of the day/month/year/decade. And not a large chunk of this content is happy.

I couldn’t help but notice that not unlike these news channels, there seems to be one problem that takes center stage. And just as we figure out the solution to this one problem, something else comes up to cloud our brain.

Think about it, a child will have problems ranging from when he will grow taller to when he will have a full mouth of teeth. A youngster would have problems like gaining a “respectable” social circle or what is the latest trend that he hasn’t tried yet. A grown-up would have problems like an upcoming loan installment or his receding hairline.

Naturally, the question after my analysis was, where do so many problems come from? And they always come in a queue like fashion, waiting to equip our mental faculties at all times, regardless of which stage of life we are in. And is there a way to circumvent the stress that arises from these problems?

Two part question, only fair that we give a two part answer.

Where do so many problems come from?

Random question: Imagine being asked this to you by a kid. How exactly would you answer this?

Since I am not answering this question to children, hopefully, there is a very simple way to answer this question. All these problems originate from the one source that we use to find solutions to them; our own mind. It just takes a small shift in looking at the problem itself. Every problem, somewhere or the other, is caused due to our own thinking. I am not talking about the physical ailments (it can however be argued that most of those are also caused due to our choices), but the mental turmoil can usually be attributed to us.

This could be a cause of trouble to many; “Oh god, why am I causing so much stress to myself?”. But if we take just a little more effort to observe, the following is probably the most empowering statement ever.

We are the cause of our own problems!

How can that be empowering? Simple, we caused our problems, we can also solve them, which we do all the time.

Let me put another fact in to light.

I have prayed for a long time to get rid of all the problems I have in my life. But some time back, during one of my intense over-thinking sessions, I figured, I’ll ask myself another question; “Let’s say I got rid of all my current problems, what would that leave me thinking?” And the answer was simple. “Well, what next?”, and this one was a really heavy hit.

Not only do we cause our own problems, on some level, we look forward to them!

Because if we were to stop having problems, we would become stagnant, complacent organisms, living just to sustain ourselves. And that’s no fun, is it?

What can we do to alleviate the stress caused by these problems?

There are hundreds of courses out there teaching us how to think critically, how to solve problems, what have you. But one thing that is always a byproduct and not the main theme is how can we reduce the anxiety and the hassle brought about by these problems.

I am going to try to paint a picture here, bear with me for a second.

Think about the biggest problem you are facing right now. Feel the emotion associated with it. Try to get the right solution of this problem, by taking as much time as you need, keeping the emotion intact. Tough, isn’t it? Now let’s flip the script for a second. Imagine someone you know comes up to you with the same problem and is asking for advice.

In the second situation, the emotion is diminished, given you aren’t the center of the situation. And I am sure the decision center of your mind is much clearer to give a solution, which brings me to my point.

It’s not the problems, but our identification of ourselves with the problem that causes stress!

I know it isn’t always possible at first, but like any muscle, if we were to train ourselves to practice this, I am sure this can be done.

And with this, my year long hiatus comes to an end. Thanks for reading.