dance with problems
A couple of months ago, I had to have a blood test to check my thyroid.
It is not a big thing. Just something I have to live with since I have hypothyroidism.
I admit that it can be a headache at times.
The wait can be long.
And being inside a health care facility at any time during a pandemic can be stressful.
Goal.
Sometimes it can also provide great opportunities.
Happily, fate smiled on me and gave me a good hand the last time I was there.
I will mask Put on my sunglasses (it was summer in Tucson, Arizona at the time, so they were essential equipment)
And I dragged myself through the scorching heat to the Campus Health part of campus.
I walked up the stairs to the appropriate lab area, signed in, and sat at a social distance from other patients.
It was here that I heard a thought expressed by a fellow patient in the waiting room that made me crack a smile and set me on the path to reflection.
It was a thought that came from an office guy in a suit while talking on the phone.
“Man, I’m telling you… I feel like if I just found the right girl… then all my problems would be solved. Then I’d FINALLY be happy.”
When I heard him utter this sentence, I couldn’t help but smile knowingly.
You see, I have heard many different versions of this thought throughout my life.
“If only I could find the right person…
“If only I could find the right house…
“If only I could find the right job…
… Then everything would finally click!”
… Then all my problems would be solved”
… Then I would finally be happy”
Many of us tell ourselves a version of this tempting thought.
Or he often gets a fed version of this.
But I realized a while ago (thinking a lot about the philosophy of happiness) that this thought can be tempting. But it is simply not true.
Let me tell you right here. Right now.
There is NOTHING in this world that can get rid of ALL your problems.
And even if there was, this would only be a temporary fix.
Days, months or weeks later, new problems will inevitably arise.
Problems you couldn’t have foreseen. And with that you will have to deal.
To live IS to have problems.
Therefore, you will never be truly happy trying to get rid of all your problems.
You will only be chasing a false peace that will never fill you.
Rather, the key to being truly happy is learning to DANCE with problems.
To learn to take on the challenges that life inevitably brings you in a way where you find meaning and joy.
Now, unfortunately, I got called in for my date before I could teach this guy in a suit this key lesson on the philosophy of happiness.
(I had really thought about sharing this reflection with him once he hung up the phone, I like talking to strangers but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be)
Still, YOU can reap the benefits of this reflection! Even if you don’t.
True happiness is accepting that there will always be problems and learning to dance with them.
It will never come from lamenting that there are and trying to get rid of them.
So the next time you find yourself facing a problem in your life, find it frustrating. Stop.
Take a break.
And think about how you can reframe the problem as an opportunity for growth.
Not as a burden to get rid of. But as a challenge.
A gift that life is offering you.
Giving you trouble is not how the world gets in your way.
This is how the world CALLS YOU TO ACTION.
This is how the world paves the way for you to be EVEN better.
So the next time you face a problem, consciously try to answer the call with joy. With purpose. With emotion. Appreciating it for what it is.
An opportunity for you to get even more out of life… if you take it as such.
I hope you have fun turning problems into fuel for a better future!
