Seeing problems as opportunities

^{Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay}

We think that a life full of problems is not at all desirable, but in fact, if we think about it more deeply, we can say that a world without problems is not real...

Life without challenges ends up becoming stagnant. That's what life is all about. Solving problems. The focus should not be on the problems themselves, but rather on the possibility of overcoming or solving those problems or challenges.

Our brain seeks to find homeostasis with the environment. There are many neural processes involved in establishing balance. We always look for patterns of events, predictions, associations. All of this is part of a larger and more developed network and strategy for survival and greater resilience.

If life did not present us with challenges or problems, we would not have the ability to evolve, to develop skills, or to see new perspectives on how to approach situations or solve problems.
Human beings live to find a way out of all the challenges that life throws at them. We don't always find the solution we want, but we can find a new way out.

Often, old problems that seemed unsolvable, or that had already been solved, end up having a different, more advantageous, or simpler solution.

Imagine that at your job, human resources calls an urgent meeting with you and announces that next month they will no longer be requiring your services. Obviously, this presents a huge problem. Your source of income, or one of your sources of income, will soon be gone. And survival mode kicks in. When looking for an alternative to the job we had until then, we may find one where we are better valued and have better contractual conditions.

A serious problem has created a greater opportunity.

I remember a situation I experienced during my college days. At the time, I was in my second year, and I failed three courses, one from my first year and two from my second. I realized this when, during the written exam for one of those three courses, I wrote “I give up” at the top of the exam and signed my name underneath.

When I handed the exam to the professor, he asked me if I wanted to reconsider my decision and try to take the exam. To which I replied that it would be extremely inconsiderate of his work (as a professor, he would be wasting time correcting an exam that I was sure would not be good enough to pass), and I thought at the time that I could learn much more about the subject for my future life if I repeated the course the following year.

At that very moment, I knew I had failed the year. The big problem for me would be explaining to my parents that it wasn't laziness that had caused me to fail, but a lack of time management in my studies and exam preparation.

Since my second enrollment in the second year, I ended up not failing any more courses, let alone repeating the year.

I gained much more from life by failing at that time. Many of the friendships I made then have lasted to this day. One of them is one of my closest friends.

My internship was at an institution and with the professor I wanted. At the end of the internship, I ended up working at the institution, where I remain to this day.

In other words, that problem, which at the time seemed “serious” to me, ended up becoming a set of opportunities and added value that I gained and that life presented to me.

I believe that when a door closes, we can try to see if a window has opened, or if any of the surrounding houses are open.

There are few problems in life that cannot be solved, that is true. But I believe that sometimes, asking for help to solve one of them, or to find a better solution, is the right thing to do.

At this stage of my life, I know I have some problems that are not quite like that. My mind is unable to see beyond them and find a solution or a way out. All I can do is be patient and try to find something on my own or with help that might come from there. So far, I don't want to give up, because I feel that my ultimate problem, the one that has no solution, is not going to be solved anytime soon.