The day I started welcoming problems

Today is the day I started welcoming problems. Why?

This morning I heard an acquaintance of mine saying “I hate problems. Especially when they are coming my way!” …
As I was about to ask “who on earth likes problems?”, I couldn’t but realize that most people dislike problems because of the hassle they come with.
Why is it so common for people to hate problems? In my opinion, it is because people know problems come with consequences.
Problems usually come with an unknown aspect. People fear that “unknown”.
Coming to think of it: that fear is so powerful that people are willing to go out of their ways just to avoid that “unknown”.
Once I realized that, I changed my viewpoint of problems.

When I started welcoming my problems, I noticed:

Problems make you grow in knowledge

You will always encounter problems in life. You might as well keep that in mind.
Think of it. If someone tells you they have problem-free life, you won’t believe that for a second. Rightfully.
Most of the knowledge we have today is a solution to a problem – a problem that has occurred to someone in the past.
Everything that exist is a solution to a problem. And people stop growing when their knowledge stop growing.

This is particularly true for businesses.

Problems make you gain experience

Going through a specific problem yourself makes you gain in experience.
That fear of the “unknown” then turns into an experience.
You can put words to that experience, assess it, and know what it is like to facing that specific problem.
Should that problem arise again, you will therefore be more prepared in the future, .

You can help others facing the same problems

Going through a problem gives you the knowledge, and the experience to help others.
Guess what! It also gives you credibility when helping other people facing the same problem you faced.
Think of it: when you face a problem, you’d rather ask help to someone who has been you in your shoes (than to someone who hasn’t been).
That knowledge and that experience of yours become precious to those in need.

You can monetize

After bringing an effective solution to your problem, you can monetize it to those in need.
This is how businesses operates: they offer a solution to a problem and they monetize it.
If the need is there, that effective solution will always be found valuable!
Valuable enough for people willing to pay for it.

My conclusion

As I previously said: I welcome every problem I encounter. That does not mean I would purposely cause them to occur.
I started welcoming each problem I encounter as I know they will provide me with VALUABLE knowledge and experience.
The same way gold is refined by fire, problems are meant to refine us. The more we are refined, the more valuable our help to others will be.
The more valuable that help is, the more you can monetize it. Simple.

 

What about you? When was the day you started welcoming problems? Do you have any other reasons for embracing problems as I do? Let us know in comments.

This article was about the day I started welcoming problems.