Six Ways To Deal With Challenges At Work
You can have all your ducks in a row, your inbox empty and your
priorities in place, but sometimes, despite all of this, things will
still go sideways and you are confronted with bad news, a crisis or a
challenge. It might be a small thing, or something huge that you can’t
bluff your way out of- here is how I personally deal with the challenges that I'm confronted with:
1. Take some time to get used to the problem
When
you are first confronted with a problem, it can all seem daunting. You
panic, your face turns red, you can't think straight, or you start
sweating. Don't dive right in when you feel like that. Take a break, go
for a walk, ask for some time to think things over, close your eyes for
10 minutes, or even hit the gym. Whatever you do, give yourself some
time to get used to the problem.
2. Define the problem
When
you first hear about the problem, it might seem overwhelming and
complicated. Start with finding out what the problem really is. Ask
people to explain it to you a few times. Keep asking questions to really
get to the root of the problem. Then go ahead and explain the problem
to someone else, just to make sure you really understand it. Often
times, simply formulating the problem and explaining it to others can help you understand it better. And that is the first crucial step to solving a problem.
3. Put things into perspective
No matter how
awful your situation may be, rest assured that someone else has been
through the same thing. It is important to realize how your situation
compares to the rest of what you are doing, and how bad it really is
compared to all the good things in your life. Is your house still on
fire? Well, that sucks. But, luckily, your family is already safe
outside, your house is insured, and you wanted to clean up the place
anyway. See, this isn't a problem at all, but a great opportunity.
4. Make the problem worse
This may sound
like bad advice, but sometimes when you can't get out of something, you
might as well dive all the way in. Did you just get fired? Well, there's
no solution to that, so you might as well embrace your new situation and also sell your house, plan that trip around the world, and write that book you've always wanted to write.
5. Divide the problem into smaller pieces
That
one big problem you've just been confronted with is usually a
combination of smaller problems that require small steps and easy
solutions. Start with finding out what the best- and worst-case
scenarios are. Then think about what the most realistic scenario is.
Then divide up the problem into smaller problems and find a solution for
every little thing. As you are going through these motions, you'll
slowly turn your focus to the solutions, rather than being blinded by
the problem.
6. Look at it in a positive way
My
last piece of advice is to just take the pain and enjoy your problems.
It is very naive to think you can lead a life without problems. Problems
are just part of what you do, and the bigger you dream, the bigger the obstacles will be.
The best writers, artists and entrepreneurs have led lives filled with
personal challenges and problems. And despite all those problems, or
because of them, they were able to do great things.
source: www.entrepreneur.com
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