A great problem solver
Stress and unhappiness come not from situations but from how you respond to those situations. Problems are a normal, natural and unavoidable factor of life. Your work will be a continuous succession of problems like the waves coming in from the ocean one after another. You will have problem after problem all day long and into the evening. They never end. They only vary in size and importance. The only part of this problem situation that you can control is your attitude - the way in which you approach each problem as it arises.
Unfortunately most people allow themselves to be overwhelmed by problems. They think and talk continually about who is to blame and why the problem occurred and the possible damage or cost. But this is not helpful. Instead, your job is to be solution oriented and concentrate all your energies on what can be done to solve the problem whatever it is.
Solution oriented people are the most valuable people in any organization. They are positive and constructive. They concentrate on what can be done now rather than what is already occurred and cannot be changed. Here is a powerful principle you can change your attitude from negative and worry to positive constructive in a single moment by simply switching your thoughts off of the problem and onto the solution. Instead of asking or worrying about who did what and who is to blame, you should instead ask the questions what do we do now and what's the solution? Your mind is designed in such a way that the more you focus on finding solutions the more solutions you will find. The more you think and talk about solutions, the faster and easier you will come up with even better solutions. You will actually become more creative and competent at solving problems dealing with difficulties achieving goals and getting key results as you discipline yourself to focus more and more on the positive constructive steps that you can take in business and in life.
The better you get at solving problems, the bigger will be the problems that you will be given to solve. The bigger and more costly the problems you saw, the more money you will be paid and the more power you will have and the higher position you will attain. Your success in your career will be largely determined by your ability to solve the problems that you meet at your level. When you demonstrate that you can solve your current problems, you will be promoted to dealing with problems of greater complexity and importance just as you get promoted to a higher grade in school when you have passed the exams at your current level.
Resolve to be solution-oriented in your approach toward life and work. Be the kind of person that people bring their problems to because you always have good ideas about how to solve them. The more you focus on solutions, the more effectively you think and the better solutions you come up with. You can put your entire life and career on the fast track toward being paid more and promoted faster by becoming an intensely solution oriented person.
Ask yourself these questions every day, "what am I trying to do? How am I trying to do it? Could there be a better way? What is the limiting factor or constraint that determines how fast you achieve your most important goal or get your most important result? What one problem if you've solved it would help you the most to move ahead more rapidly in your career right?
Try to answer all these questions and select one of these answers and take action on it immediately. Think in terms of solutions for the rest of your career.
