Problems become overwhelming…
When we try to solve…
All of them…
All at once.
Reduce the problem.
Find the next step.
Then take it.
SOLVE PROBLEMS
ONE STEP AT A TIME
The first step in solving any problem…
Is reducing the workload.
Separate what matters…
From what does not.
Sort through the facts.
Identify what is working.
Eliminate what is not.
Replace confusion…
With one clear action.
When we approach a problem patiently and focus upon it…
Something interesting happens.
The problem begins revealing itself.
And while we are learning about it…
We are also learning about ourselves.
REALITY
Before anything can be solved…
We must admit…
It needs our attention.
That first step may not feel welcoming.
Fear may appear.
The stomach may flutter.
The chest may tighten.
The mind may begin creating reasons…
To delay.
These physical responses are invitations to pause and assess.
They are signals…
Not final answers.
Ask:
Am I facing a reasonable opportunity for growth?
Or is there genuine danger requiring caution, counsel, or distance?
Awareness comes first.
Action follows.
RESPOND…
DO NOT REACT
A reaction is immediate.
Emotional.
Often unexamined.
A response allows time.
It observes.
Asks questions.
Considers consequences.
Then chooses.
When a problem appears…
Stop.
Look.
Listen.
Gather facts.
Respond only after you have enough clarity…
To move wisely.
REALITY—PART TWO
Some problems require courage.
Others require caution.
Not every obstacle should be charged into.
Not every fear should be obeyed either.
Observe what is happening.
Seek wise counsel when needed.
Study the risks.
Repeat this process…
Until confidence is based upon understanding…
Not impulse.
PROBLEMS
Problems disturb our preferred order.
They interrupt routines.
Challenge beliefs.
Expose weaknesses.
And demand something from us.
That is why we rarely welcome them.
Yet a problem can become an opening…
Through which a healthier way of living enters.
Something may need to be corrected.
Released.
Rebuilt.
Learned.
Or forgiven.
WHAT SHOULD BE
A problem may reveal…
What is preventing the better part of us…
From coming forward.
Perhaps an unhealthy habit must go.
A false belief must be replaced.
A neglected responsibility must be faced.
A difficult truth must be admitted.
Choice now enters the picture.
Will I resist the lesson?
Or allow the needed change?
Resistance often appears…
Just before growth.
WORTHY NOTE
Resistance does not always mean…
Turn back.
Sometimes it means…
Something important…
Is waiting beyond this point.
REVERSE YOUR APPROACH
Most people move away from discomfort.
Problem-solvers move carefully toward its source.
Like a metal detector responding when something hidden is beneath the surface…
Resistance can help identify…
Where our attention belongs.
Ask:
What keeps repeating?
Where does the difficulty intensify?
What truth am I avoiding?
What action have I delayed?
The squeaky wheel may need attention.
The faulty part may need replacing.
The worn-out belief may have reached…
The end of its usefulness.
OH, A PROBLEM…
CAN IT WAIT?
Sometimes.
But delay must be a decision…
Not an escape.
Ignoring a problem often allows it to grow.
One unpaid bill becomes several.
One misunderstanding becomes resentment.
One neglected repair becomes damage.
One unaddressed habit becomes a way of life.
Problems gain strength…
When our unwillingness feeds them.
Refuse intimidation.
Begin somewhere.
REDUCE THE PROBLEM
Do not attempt to carry the entire mountain.
Move one stone.
Write down the problem.
List what you know.
List what you do not know.
Separate what you can control…
From what you cannot.
Then identify…
The next useful action.
That is enough…
For today.
THE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS
FIRST—ACKNOWLEDGE IT
Say:
“There is a problem.”
Do not dramatize it.
Do not deny it.
Name it honestly.
SECOND—PAUSE
Choose the right time and place.
Calm yourself.
Avoid making major decisions…
In the height of anger, panic, or confusion.
THIRD—GATHER FACTS
What happened?
Who is involved?
What evidence is available?
What assumptions may be misleading you?
Facts reduce fear.
FOURTH—BREAK IT DOWN
Large problems are often several smaller problems…
Standing together.
Separate them.
Handle one at a time.
FIFTH—CHOOSE
Consider the options.
Select the most reasonable next step.
Then act.
SIXTH—REVIEW
Did it work?
What improved?
What did not?
What needs adjusting?
This is not failure.
This is education.
IN TIME…
THIS WILL HAPPEN
You will become aware of problems sooner.
You will learn to respond…
Instead of react.
A dependable routine will develop.
What once overwhelmed you…
Will become familiar territory.
The work is cumulative.
Every problem handled correctly…
Adds strength to your foundation.
You begin practicing ownership.
“The responsibility stops here.”
That does not mean…
Everything is your fault.
It means…
You accept responsibility…
For your response.
PROBLEMS LOSE THEIR POWER
Many problems receive energy from:
Ignorance.
Avoidance.
Delay.
Fear.
Confusion.
Once understanding and action arrive…
Their power begins diminishing.
You stand up.
The problem becomes smaller.
Not because it disappeared immediately…
But because you became more capable.
HELPING OTHERS
Eventually…
Your experience becomes useful to someone else.
You recognize the fear in their face.
You understand the confusion.
You remember what helped.
Now you can listen.
Guide.
Encourage.
Or simply help them identify…
Their next step.
You do not have to solve everything for them.
Sometimes the greatest help is reminding another person…
That they are capable of participating…
In their own solution.
GRATITUDE IN ACTION
When you use your hard-earned wisdom…
To help another person…
You are expressing gratitude.
You are saying:
“What I learned…
Will not stop with me.”
The difficulty becomes service.
The wound becomes wisdom.
The former problem becomes…
Someone else’s helping hand.
DO ALL PROBLEMS DISAPPEAR?
No.
Some can be solved.
Some can be managed.
Some require acceptance.
Others change shape…
As life changes.
A younger person may face work, family, ambition, and identity.
An older person may face health, energy, loss, dependence, and changing abilities.
Every season introduces…
Its own assignments.
WHEN OUR ABILITIES CHANGE
As we grow older…
We may not possess the strength…
Speed…
Attention…
Or desire…
We once had.
Problems may look different.
Some situations may require help from family, professionals, community, or faith.
Receiving help is not defeat.
It may be…
The next wise response.
GRACE
Then comes grace.
Grace meets us…
Where our strength cannot.
It does not always remove the circumstance.
It gives us peace…
Patience…
Acceptance…
And enough strength…
For the next step.
Sometimes grace solves the problem…
By changing the situation.
Sometimes…
By changing us.
WE JOURNEY PAST IT ALL
For people of faith…
The final answer is not that every earthly problem disappears.
It is that no earthly problem…
Has the final word.
The caterpillar enters the cocoon…
Then emerges in another form.
We see the pattern…
And dare to believe…
Life continues beyond what we presently understand.
One step at a time works…
Until the final step.
And there…
The Step-Maker awaits.
FINAL THOUGHT
Name the problem.
Reduce it.
Pause.
Gather facts.
Choose wisely.
Act.
Learn.
Adjust.
Then move again.
You do not have to solve…
Your entire life today.
You only need enough faith…
Wisdom…
And courage…
To take the next right step.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
Been expecting you