Whenever facing a problem, an obstacle or however you would call it, by default we perceive it as a negative thing and treat it negatively. At work you could have a problem with making the website template right, so you postpone the job once again. What if we would not think of the obstacles as a barrier but as a stepping stone in our everyday journey? Here are some thoughts to empower your everyday with goal-oriented results.
Avoid Negativity: The Epidemic Will Spread
A month ago I finally quit a crappy job and a project that I was not satisfied with. It’s less money, but it gave a positive impact on my social capital. If you pay a little attention you can smell negativity from a distance. By all means stay away and avoid direct contact. I call it a disease as it will print on every aspect of your life. You will be less satisfied with your work, breakfast, friends and more importantly yourself. If you feel well set with positive surroundings, it will be a lot easier for you to adjust to new circumstances and change your perception towards a positive rather than seeing the negative.
Perception: Shifting Your Focus
One way to change “obstacles” into opportunities is to think one step ahead – skip them. There will always be something that you would avoid so “jump” to the positive outcome rather than focusing on the action that you have to face. Example: My boss asked me to do a long and tedious job. Right after receiving the task, my excitement went down like a rock in the water. To avoid self-degrading thoughts, I focused on how happy I and my boss will be when the task is completed. Or if I have to write a very time-consuming blog post, I think of the other people feedback and comments that will follow, rather than focusing on the actual hours the job will require. In a way it’s a horse-before-cart way of thinking, but it has helped me a lot. In the era when no one can wait to harvest the fruits of labor, imagine yourself with a fruit full basket while picking them.
Confidence: You Are What You Think
Confidence goes hand in hand with perception – it’s the view of how you see yourself. Are you brave enough to try, to fail and continue trying? Do you see yourself as someone who is not afraid to go in combat with unknown tasks and lead the way when others are not certain? I believe that confidence is extremely important and will go a long way, as so often we have the skill set, but we are overruled by someone more confident, as everyone else trusts the one who trust himself. You have to show the authority and ownership of your actions. One of the best advice I have received regards boosting confidence was to fake it till you make it. It can be positive talk in the mirror, repeating bold statements 50x a day or listening to motivational audio books. Do whatever helps to uplift your self-beliefs and keep mimicking it until it will be a part of your DNA.
Conclusion
In this post, I wanted to spark the idea that whenever facing a problem, don’t treat it like one, but look at it as another great opportunity to learn something new. Avoid negativity as much as possible and focus on doing the best you can and remember that by believing in yourself brings confidence in others.