Life is inherently challenging. Evolutionary, this has always been the case; however, the difference today is that we’re not running from wild animals anymore, but the challenges have changed. In the modern world, the challenges have shifted to strict deadlines, a difficult decision, or sudden changes in our personal lives or professional environment. Facing challenges in life is inevitable, but what makes them easier is how we respond to them. There are proven strategies that not only help you push through difficult times and overcome obstacles but also make you more resilient.
Weigh up Your Options
These days, the solutions to our problems are often not very straightforward. Even small everyday decisions, like what meal to cook or how to spend leisure time, can get overwhelming with the sheer number of options and opinions available, and it’s easy to feel paralyzed.
Take something that seems straightforward. For example, you want to improve your poker skills. When starting a game, decision fatigue can cost you a lot, but rushing into the game and making a risky decision blindly is just as bad. There are many things to consider when it comes to gambling, like which platform to choose, what the odds of the game are, when to place a bet, fold, or double down. These decisions need to be well-calculated to ensure a win. Understanding the game and making the right decisions, even when under pressure, is crucial. Even choosing a top no KYC crypto casino can be part of a calculated strategy. It removes the usually lengthy registration and ID check process, so you can use all your resources and focus on the game.
Experienced gamblers often benefit from training their brains in making calculated and sometimes risky decisions in a short amount of time, without getting overwhelmed by their options. While an essential part of playing casino games, keeping a clam mind while making other life decisions is just as valuable.
Start by making a pro and con list of all the options, depending on what it is you want to achieve, and narrow it down from there. Are there long-term effects, resources you need, possible risks? Weighing up to the options helps to find clarity and makes the solution clearer.
Don’t Resist the Problem
For many, resistance is the first default reaction: A problem appears, it is scary, uncomfortable, or overwhelming, and you don’t want to deal with it. Resistance often appears in the form of denial, anger, or avoidance. While these reactions seemingly protect you from the difficulty you’re facing in that very moment, it only delays finding a solution and usually becomes more difficult when prolonged. There is nothing wrong with feeling the feelings. But in order to move forward, it is important to not dwell on the feeling, but to step away from it and to evaluate the situation and the potential solutions.
These reactions used to save our lives in the times of hunter-gathers, but today they are holding us back. When chased by a bear, flight is a healthy response, but when a work project suddenly fails, running away from it and avoiding finding a solution isn’t helpful at all. Instead, looking at the problem that has appeared, communicating with the team, and brainstorming different options is necessary in this scenario.
Don’t Solve Alone: Ask for Help
Being independent seems to be an admirable trait these days: it shows that an individual can sustain themselves and implies power and strength. Already in 2021, the American Perspectives Survey found that fewer Americans rely on their friends for personal support. Isolating ourselves with our problems, however, can slow progress down. Humans are inherently social and have always relied on a community. Today’s competitive world has many confused about when it is okay and important to ask for help. In fact, solving problems with peers can speed up the progress, because they might suggest a solution you hadn’t considered.
Think of making an important decision about a marketing project or installing solar panels on your roof. You can’t be an expert at everything. In fact, it is very empowering to know what you don’t know, and consulting friends and experts in a field is a big part of problem-solving. Asking for help doesn’t show one’s weakness, rather it shows determination to take the necessary steps.
Reframe the Narrative
Your mind is your most powerful tool, and you believe the stories you tell yourself. The language you use to describe a problem can lead you into a mindset trap. Telling yourself “This task is impossible” or “I can’t do this” can quickly lead to paralysis. Instead, saying “This is difficult, but I can figure it out” shifts the perspective and creates a positive openness to finding a solution, even though the task is difficult.
Research shows that reframing negative thoughts can significantly reduce stress levels. Instead of focusing on the negative aspect of why something is the way it is, try seeing what you can learn from the situation and how to progress in the future. Reframing the narrative with a positive outlook is something that can be trained. Tell yourself the right stories, and you will start to believe them.
Keep a Growth Mindset
In her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”, psychologist Carol Dweck suggests that intelligence and talent are not fixed traits. She introduces two kinds of mindsets: fixed and growth. People with a fixed mindset believe that they were born with their intelligence and abilities, and therefore struggle to take on tasks and challenges when they feel those surpass their skill level. Growth-minded people, on the other hand, believe that everything can be achieved with hard work and dedication, and therefore learn more easily and are more resilient.
Keeping a growth mindset helps you not to feel doomed when facing an obstacle, but to find solutions. If you failed a test on your first attempt, it doesn’t show that you are not intelligent enough to pass but rather that you need to put in more work, or you need better time management. Learn from feedback and criticism to strive for the better and to progress rather than determining failure.
Conclusion: The Journey is the Destination
Life will always pose challenges, and there is nothing we can do about it. Going through life with fear, sticking to the things you know, and trying to avoid complicated situations doesn’t only make life considerably harder but also less enjoyable. Keeping an open mind and viewing challenges as something positive, something that you can learn from and use to progress in life, will translate into success and happiness.
