How to positively respond to a problem

If you're facing problems in your life, always remember that you're not alone. Everyone has to deal with difficult situations from time to time. While challenging circumstances can be hard to deal with, they're also highly valuable. Adversity shows you what you are made of and who you really are over time. Your character will develop through overcoming adversity again and again.

To be successful in dealing with adversity you can use a simple four-step method to work through a problem and think about how to solve it. These four steps are applicable to any difficult situation and will help you overcome the problems in your life.

Define the problem clearly

You can't overcome a problem until you know what the problem is. So what is your problem? What exactly are you worrying about? Write out the details of your problem and be specific as you list exactly what is going on. Once you see your problem in black and white, it will be much easier to brainstorm ways to tackle the issue. If you have more than one problem that you're worried about, write out a separate definition for each one. Breaking down your main problem into multiple smaller ones will help the overall issue feel much more manageable.

Determine the worst possible outcome

After you've defined your problem,ask yourself what's the worst possible thing that could happen in this situation. Then be completely honest with yourself about the answer. Write down the worst outcome that could possibly occur. This might seem like counter-intuitive advice, but in some cases you might find that you really don't have that much to lose even if everything falls apart. In other situations there might be more at stake but knowing the worst possible outcome will help your vision to be clear and focused as you work towards solving the problem.

Resolve to accept the worst

Once you've identified the worst possible outcome, resolve to accept it. Tell yourself this outcome is going to occur no matter what you do. If the worst possible outcome is that you lose your business, accept the fact that this outcome is going to take place. Think about how losing your business will feel, tell yourself it's going to happen. When you accept this outcome, you'll immediately notice a change in your mindset. You'll relax, your mind will clear and your ability to deal with the situation will dramatically improve. Resolving to accept the worst will alleviate your worry and stress. You'll have a fresh perspective moving forward and you'll be looking at your problem with new eyes.

Improve the worst case scenario

So you've accepted the worst case scenario, what happens now? Now you start moving forward. Throw yourself into the fight to fix the problem rather than focusing on what if. You can start improving the right now and focus all of your energy on it moving forward. Don't worry about why your problem happened or who is responsible. Think about the future not the past. The important question is what do I do now. List out the steps you can take to minimize the consequences and begin to fix your problem.

Successful people aren't people who've never had problems e. Everybody has problems in life. What sets successful people apart is how they respond to the problems.