If you’re alive and breathing, chances are that you have been, are being, and/or will be faced with challenges; they’re just part of human nature. Although most of us feel some level of stress when dealing with a challenge, the stress does not come from the challenge itself, it comes from the ways in which we’re handling it. After all, most challenges are good and necessary – they put your mind to work, and they make you stronger and better in the end; they’re good for you!  We shouldn’t be afraid of challenges that come our way. Instead, we should embrace them. So, what’s the best way to do that? Here are a couple of things that have helped me in mine.

1. How long will the elephant stay in your room?
   A lot of times we look at challenges from the wrong angle, missing (or refusing to look at) the main, underlying problem. The only way you can start to get rid of the elephant in the room is by acknowledging and identifying it; it’s there, and it has a name. It’s not enough to just know that there’s an issue, you should truly make yourself aware of what exactly it is that you’re dealing with.

   For example, after writing blogs for about a year (I’m a bit of a rookie), I’ve been moping in my head about my decline in writing frequency for quite some time now, but I refused to deal with this issue. It was the elephant in my room, and I finally decided to stare at it – why am I not writing as often? As I focused on the issue, it turns out my challenge was not exactly the act of writing; my actual challenge has been coming up with new topics to write about, having my creativity bucket collecting dust. And so, by identifying the essential issue I can now focus on finding an effective solution. This is the first step to overcoming any challenge: look past the surface, and identify the fundamental problem.

2. How will you get the elephant out?
   Sometimes, identifying the real challenge can be a lot easier than finding a solution to it, but at least it gives you a start! Writing about my personal challenge helped me identify it, which was step number one. In the course of nature you’ll often find that once you take that first step, it’s a lot easier to take that second one. After you’ve done your first step of identifying, you can now focus on how you’ll overcome your challenge.

   a.) Write down your own ideas on how to approach your new challenge.

   b.) Talk to others about your struggle; share with people that have dealt with a similar challenge. Chances are that someone somewhere has gone or is going through the same thing, and could offer you some useful insight.

   c.) Put all those ideas and advice together and do some good ‘ol fashion trial and error. You may not stumble upon the greatest solution right away, but if you do nothing then your elephant might live there forever, rent-free.

The take-away.

All in all, when it comes to facing your challenges it really comes down to these three points:

1. Knowing the underlying issue allows you to focus on finding an effective solution.

2. Do some good ‘ol fashion trial and error – it’s better than doing nothing.

3. Learn from all of it.

The best thing about overcoming a challenge is that if you’re faced with it again, you’re ready for it; it becomes less “challenging,” making you ready for better and bigger challenges. You learn the good and the bad and can add another star to your “Life Experiences Board,” while also learning how to deal with other difficult situations. So, the next time you’re faced with a challenge, make sure you look at it from the right angle and tackle it like a pro! 🙂

*Featured image: Life is Stressful by Ayana

Written by Nayadee Wilson