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Gina Prosch

finding joy one day at a time

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problems

Problems … and Their Gifts

During July I’ve been writing about the difference between worries and real problems, about taking worries and turning them into concrete dilemmas in order to conquer them.

Here’s a concrete on how I learned the power of transforming a worry into a problem.

Six years ago in the middle of a stressful, horrible summer, I posted a single, joyful thing to my Facebook timeline:

“Watching the cat run through the house and try to turn a quick corner on hardwood floors.”

The next day I did the same, again and again, until it was a whole week of joyful moments. Then it was a month.

#ThisDaysJoy sort of fell into place as an idea.

At first, I was fine. It was summertime, and there was an abundance of low-hanging joyous fruit to choose from — zinnias & butterflies, rainbows & sunsets, fresh peaches & cream.

Pretty soon, without even trying, I realized I was on a streak.

YAY! (Writers really love productive streaks!)

Until THE day.

The inevitable bad day when –meh –not really feeling the joy.

My internal clock ticked off the minutes.

Nope. Nothing. No joy in Mudville.

Worry knocked on the door, and my streak was in serious jeopardy.

I heard worry scoff and say, “Did you really think you could find something joyful in every day?”

And then, in a moment of utter clarity, a flash of understanding when everything became crystal clear, I said to myself, “You know what your problem is: you need to find something joyful in this day.”

Uh…yes…??

And the solution was right there, too: find something joyful in this day.

Holy smokes! In the blink of an eye I realized, I didn’t have a worry, I had a problem…and I also had a solution!

A lot of times problems come bearing their very own gifts, and the solution is wrapped up in the problem itself. Identifying the problem is the first, most important step to solving it.

Worry: I worried this quilt I’m working on as a gift won’t turn out right.
Problem: I can’t figure out how to get my points to match up on this quilt block.
Solution: Figure out how to get my points to match up on this quilt block.

See! The solution is hidden in plain sight — right there in the problem.

When you worry, try to identify the problem at the root of the worry.

Also, keep in mind the fact that worries are vague, while problems are specific. So be as specific as possible about the problem.

Then examine the language of the problem itself…the solution might just be staring you right in the face.

And if you haven’t yet picked up a copy of This Day’s Joy or the Finding This Day’s Joy journal — now’s the time!! 🙂

Filed Under: Gina Prosch Blog Tagged With: problems, what did you learn

Life: One Big Story Problem

Worries. They can be omnipresent, going round and round with no end in sight.

They’re like old friends who knock on your door in the middle of the night and wake you from a sound sleep because they’re looking for someone to feed them beer and chips.

When I was younger, I didn’t see a difference between a worry and a problem.

You worry because you have a problem, right? Seemed simple enough to me.

It took me a long time — years! — to understand that a worry and a problem are not the same thing at all.

Having the courage to see the difference between the two was hugely liberating.

Worry is all about tormenting yourself with disturbing thoughts, picking at something, or nagging at yourself. Endlessly.

Problems are different because problems do have one thing over worries — they come with solutions!

Sure, maybe not all the solutions are perfect or ideal, but at least there’s a goal to work toward. With worry there’s no goal — just more worry.

When I was younger, I was afraid to turn my worries into actual full-blown problems…because I was also afraid I wouldn’t be able to find solutions.

What if this problem is just like algebra class? What if life is nothing but one big story problem with the trains and the cars all leaving at different times and going in different directions? What if I can’t figure out what to do or where to start???

Then I remembered something I learned from Algebra.

Just because I couldn’t figure out the solutions lickety split in my head didn’t mean they weren’t there.

I simply hadn’t found them.

Talk about an unpleasant reality check!

And I really face-palmed when it dawned on me that I couldn’t find solutions until I first identified the problems.

So now, I try to take my worries and turn them into concrete dilemmas…then find solutions.

It’s not always easy, but it is doable — I promise!

More on this next time!

Filed Under: Gina Prosch Blog Tagged With: answers, figure it out, problems, there's an answer to every problem

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