When to Ignore or Deal with Problems

Wish your problems would just go away? Me too. Ever been stuck in a problematic situation where you didn’t want to be in? I’ve been there too.

Let’s take a look at our problems and what to do with them.

Our problems can range from not liking the weather (that’s the case for me today) to having to change your car transmission. Knowing how to disregard certain problematic circumstances is far more important and productive than wishing they would go away. You need to face your problems. Here's how...

2 ways to work around your problems:

1. Ignore them. To ignore a problem means you completely disregard the fact that it actually exist. Problems that we can ignore are what we call “concerns”. These concerns are usually beyond our immediate control. This means that there is nothing we can do today to make an obvious difference the following day. One of the things that we can’t control is weather. If I could control weather – it would be sunny at 75 degrees F every single day because I despise cold weather. But, as you know, weather is beyond my control. If you feel like you’re having a bad day or feeling depressed because of the gloomy weather, ignore it and don’t deal with it. Dealing with this problem will more than likely put you in a very bad mood.
   
   
2. Deal with them. To deal with our problems is to recognize that they actually exist. You know these problems affect you immediately. To disregard them means to be able to find a workaround rather than ignoring them. Problems that we deal with are what we call influence. We can control these kinds of influential problem. This means that if we do something about our problem today, results will be immediately apparent. One of the things that we can control is our immediate physical environment, like when your car transmission is failing. If it is necessary to change your car transmission, deal with it and don’t ignore it. Ignoring this problem will cost you a lot of money down the road.

Keep in mind that a plan for ignoring all the pot holes on the road by dodging all of them is a bad plan. Sometimes, you’ll need a plan to deal with these pot holes because you will hit some of them.

On the other hand, the ability to ignore problems that don’t need to be dealt with will allow you to focus and conserve your energy towards other productive things. This is the way of putting your energy in dealing and fixing problems that is of your influence rather than of your concerns. Remember that concerns are things you have no control over and influence is something you can make an immediate difference when you do something about it.

Ultimately, the inability to ignore or deal with problems is the worst case scenario. When you are not capable of ignoring or dealing with your problems, you are headed for the worst. This is how physical fights usually start, this is how depression begins, and this is why you worry endlessly.

The outcome of dealing with problems should always be positive. For example, if you are having issue with another person, find a way to understand and make peace with that person (mutual/win-win attitude) instead of criticizing and even worse, punching that person in the face (I win/you lose attitude). I see this happen often. Some problems are not being dealt with wisely by some people and this is why we need Law Enforcements in our society.

Knowing when and how to exert your energy and recognizing what problems need to be addressed will determine whether or not you’re wasting your time.

Ignore the problems you have no control over and deal with the ones that you can do something about and that when you deal with problems, the outcome should always be positive.