#Middlebury
WINNING WAYS – Insights for Constructive Living
by PAT IANNUZZI
No one likes problems, but everyone has them from time to time. Problems can cause stress, anxiety and pain, and can be disruptive forces in our lives. Things go wrong all the time for everyone. None of us lives a charmed life after all. While our problems can be big or small with regard to their effects on our lives, their actual impacts usually have less to do with their true nature and more about how we react to them.
Some of us are easily knocked off track by problems. We waste valuable time worrying about them and let them distract us from the important things on which we should be focusing. Sometimes we subconsciously exaggerate a problem’s significance or even create a problem in our minds when one actually doesn’t exist. In extreme cases, problems can almost paralyze us to the point of inaction, thereby making a bad situation even worse. Here are a few suggestions for effectively tackling and overcoming problems.
Assess the significance of the problem. Ask yourself, “Will this really matter a year from now or even a week from now?” Put the problem in perspective. How does this issue rank with the other challenges you may be facing? Don’t let it take on a life of its own and consume you. At the moment it may be hard to think of a more dire fate that could befall you; however, your problem may seem minimal when you realize there are plenty of people who have it way worse than you do.
Accept the problem. Don’t brood about your situation or try to rationalize it away. Nothing can be gained by overanalyzing what went wrong. When you accept that the problem exists and stop resisting it, you can then focus all your energy on developing a creative solution rather continuing to “feed” the problem by needlessly dwelling on it.
Take appropriate action. Determine if you need to act to eliminate a problem such as with an uncooperative employee or if you need to overcome it as would be the case of the loss of a good customer or damage from a weather event that was out of your control. Sometimes what may appear to be the problem is actually a manifestation of another, deeper one. For example, poor sales may be the result of a poorly trained or motivated sales force. Dig into the issue, look behind the symptoms and try to find the cause. Ask a lot of questions, collect data and facts, and make sure you understand the situation clearly
Take swift action. Use 80 percent of your time to find solutions and only 20 percent to complain, worry and whine about it. This might not always be easy, but focusing your energy, time and thoughts in this way is much more beneficial than doing the opposite.
While some problems may afford the luxury of time to resolve them, it’s usually a good idea to take action quickly. This helps focus your attention in a positive direction – the solution rather than on the problem. Furthermore, having an unresolved problem hanging around will only prolong its negative impact.
“Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles; they toughen and make it strong.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
Pat Iannuzzi of Symbiont Performance Group, Inc. is a performance consultant, trainer and coach focusing on selling, presentation and interpersonal skills. He lives in Litchfield and can be reached at 860-283-9963 or piannuzzi@symbiontnet.com.
