What if the problem you are trying to solve IS a problem only because you see it as one?
Let’s see how this looks like in real life. Say for example you walk into a messy room. The problem is not that the room is messy, but the problem is that you think the room should not be messy. You go into work on a Monday morning, and are interrupted several times by your colleagues and boss during the day. Now you have a problem with this if you don’t like being interrupted. But if you feel, this the way the world works, and that people want to get their work done and will butt into your work, thinking it is ok, then you no longer think this is a problem, because you accept that it is ok.
You commute to work and home each day and find yourself stuck in traffic. If you hate traffic and feel restless, then you have a problem, but if you feel this is a great time for you to switch off from work at home or in office and switch on your favourite radio station, the traffic is no longer a problem.
The first step towards living life on a lighter note is to question the status quo of the current problem you are facing and understanding that something in you thinks it is a problem to begin with. Sidra says there are two kinds of problems.
Problems that are given by nature or by fate – You invest in a piece of land and after a few years it begins to appreciate very well. Now you reach a point in time, when you want to sell it and use that money to fulfill an aspiration or pay off some debts. Suddenly, Government policy changes, or a natural calamity hits the area where your property is located and it no longer holds the same value. Its price drops overnight. You’ve been doing everything right in business and just when that big order shows up something happens and you lose the order right out of your hands. Just like that. These are problems created by nature or by fate and happen for a reason. May be they are here to test you to see how much of it will you treat as a problem and what will you choose to experience as a result of it. These problems are usually a sign of change – and may need you to be patient or change course so you can grow and learn more.
Problems that are created by your mind – If your child has a messy handwriting, then you have a problem, but someone else may be completely ok with this and won’t view this as a problem at all. You are going to that party in the evening and can’t find the right outfit to wear, although you have a cupboard full of options. May be the problem is not that you don’t have the right outfit to wear, but may come from the fact that you were not invited in the first list or you don’t perceive your body as being beautiful enough and therefore your mind finds a way to create this as a problem.
How about drawing out a list of the problems you are currently facing in your life?
Drop them under one of the two headings – problem of your mind, problem of fate. And each night before you go to bed, take a look at this list and identify the root of the problem – does it lie in your perception and hence requires you to make a shift or does it come from fate requiring you to course correct and accept change?
Let’s work consciously each day to live life on a lighter note. And slowly, this will become your new normal.
