I looked over this post in August of 2020 and I felt like I didn't get across what I was trying to get across, so I made a new post to clear some things up. Check it out!
The new post replaces this post, really... but I'm keeping it here for archival purposes.
Original post from December 2019:
Everybody has problems.
Whether you're a starving child or someone who earns 7-figures a year, you've got what you would consider "problems".
It also seems like a lot of people like to sit and dwell on their problems, and I just don't understand why (especially if they're closer to the 7-figure earner side of the spectrum than the starving child one).
I look at a problem as something to solve, not something to live with.
Do you really want to sit there and complain to everybody around you about how you feel your job "doesn't give you enough opportunities to grow" for the next 40 years?
Do you want to get to the end of your life and just be like: "Damn, that sucked. And now I'm gonna die. Cool, see ya!"?
No! Who the hell wants that?!
Have you ever stopped to think for 1 second who really, actually cares about your first-world problems more than you? Does anyone? Should anyone? Shouldn't you be a man/woman and solve your own damn problems?
Can you think back to a time when you really didn't have any problems?
If you're anything like me, then it seems like you always have a few "big" problems that are at the top of your list, and as soon as you solve them, new ones pop into their place (without you even actively thinking about it).
And if you are anything like me, here's the thing that we can both agree on: we're always going to have problems.
Blame it on lifestyle creep, your constant desire to improve, your inner pessimist, or whatever you want. You're always going to have problems.
And why should you be so afraid of problems if you're always going to have them?
You shouldn't. You should outsmart them.
Why should you be sad and depressed and dwell about something you know you can't change?!
You should EXPECT more, BIGGER problems. Then you'll be pleasantly surprised if they don't actually happen.
Expect your car to catastrophically break down at any second. Expect all your clients/your employer to leave you/fire you suddenly for no particular reason. Expect all the files on your computer to randomly get deleted. Expect all your stuff to get stolen.
If a problem is a bull, grab it by the horns and run with it until you wear it out and make it your bitch — then move on to the next bull.
THAT sure sounds a helluva lot more fun than running away and telling everyone a big, bad bull is chasing you.
It also makes you look like a lot less of a pussy (just sayin').
I mean, what are you... a charity case?
I know I can't shake problems, so I always expect the worst, and I make them my best friends.
I treat problems like I'm on a game show. The producers are throwing challenges ("problems") at me, and I'm supposed to figure out how to deal with them, or lose — AND I DON'T WANT TO LOSE.
But yeah... I lose sometimes. Often. I lose often. Very often. i make the wrong calls. I make bad decisions. Things don't turn out as I planned... but you know what the great part is? At least I'm making decisions.
The great thing about the game show of my life is: I can't get cut AND the next season starts anytime I want.
See ya next year, puppies 😀 Love having problems and love one another ✊
Merry Christmas and have a very happy New Year!! 🤩
More problems, more life.
