During the course of life, it wouldn’t be surprising to find yourself in the middle of situations you consider too hard to deal with. We consider not to confront problems and escape facing them.

These circumstances can be sudden and unpredicted or probably something you were aware of since the beginning.

Be it family, studies or job, friends, other commitments or responsibilities, we’re bound to be put in a loop of expectations. And this, at times, becomes even more pressurising.

Here is when the relevance of taking the right decisions comes in, an art we all are trying to master.

It can be for an opportunity you’ve come across and need direction for, or a difficulty or complication you’re trying to find a solution for. Anyway, know that you’re not alone.

We’ve all been there, and as difficult as it may seem, it’s just a matter of understanding and prioritizing. Always think beyond giving up.

Understand yourself, the context, the consequences. Once you have that clear, it’s easier to make a decision. Maybe it won’t be the best one, but that’s the beauty of making mistakes: you learn from them!

This is a space to help you.

Let’s step into how to confront a bothering problem, one thing at a time:

1. Know your situation well

Having complete knowledge about what’s bothering you should be a priority to improve understanding and reduce the complexity of the situation.

It can be done by asking self-reflection questions and introspecting in the right manner.

You may also try sitting down to journal or do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

Understand that you hold all the answers within, you just need to seek them.

2. Be bold enough to try

Gaining a clarity on your problem can settle in most of the issue since you know the topic.

Every individual has their own way of thinking, which can make them have a unique perspective on things that matter to them. Despite the generalisation of the situation, they know that their instincts are calling out for something to act upon.

It’s here when most people fall out, by not taking a challenge and remaining too cosy in the comfort zone.

Trust your instincts and take the bold move. You never know how strong you may become, when you may inspire someone or build a movement.

3. Consider the consequence of not acting

The best manner to approach a difficulty is to use your skills to deal with it.

During the time of introspection, you already came across what works best for you. Now use your willpower and imagination to keep up with the motivation and manage stress.

Having strength is not an option, it’s a necessity to confront problems.

Not acting upon a problem can make you stay stuck in it till the consequences hit hard from the back. This can only worsen the situation and make it even harder to work upon.

So don’t stall it! Taking a decision to do something about it can guide you to resolve it.

Now, let’s understand some strategies to take big decisions for these problems:

“You’re never going to be 100% ready and it’s never going to be just the right time, but that’s the point. It means that every moment is also the right moment. If you want it, you just have to do it.

– Unknown”

4. Explore -Exploit trade-off

While making a settlement, we’re usually left with a number of options to choose from.

Be it deciding to pursue higher studies, go in for a job, or something as basic as choosing which topic to study first for the upcoming exam.

It’s advisable that you explore the opportunity, given that it’s new and you have a long duration of time to go for it. And you must exploit the information, given that it’s something you already have an idea about, or know that exists. Then you’re bound with a short time to take the decision.

Also known as the explore-exploit trade-off strategy, it helps to execute the analytical side of the brain and take calculative resolutions.

5. The idea of minimalism to confront problems

We hold on to a lot of materialistic possessions, be it tangible or mental, thinking that someday they might be of some good use to us. So we store these items in the drawers, cupboard, wardrobe or hold these memories in places, objects, fragrances and don’t wish to let them go.

The idea of minimalism is to give your life a positive revamp, decluttering things that are of no more worth to you.

Speaking of the mind, it helps in situations when we hold ourselves back, or probably when we carry baggage in our hearts.

The approach is to dispose-off anything that hasn’t served your purpose in the recent six months, for might never be relevant in future as well. Removing the least used items makes space for the important things, which become easily accessible to you.

Speaking of the mind, it helps you do what makes the most sense in the least amount of time, and confront problems.

6. Being fearless to make mistakes

“And now go, make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes.”- Neil Gaiman

Sometimes, putting in fewer efforts for a critical decision, can help you release stress, relax more and take a calm, more self-aware and practical move.

Taking risks and chances at times can take you to another journey of adventure and might bring out the hidden parts of you, you never thought existed.

It’s alright to eliminate options that are not a priority, so the ones which are getting more attention and focus.

Being fearless to make mistakes can help you gain mental stability and courage to become brave and bold, even when life hits hard.

Becoming an everyday leader is not hard, but it’s always a conscious option.

While you choose to stand tall amidst a storm or take a move nobody expects you to, you become a better version of who you really are.

Know that you’re bold enough to confront problems and take the right decisions!

Did this article help you? Have you ever taken any of these points into consideration when you had to make a decision?

Share with us in the comments!

If you liked this text, you may also enjoy reading: This story will change your perception about problems

Written by

Vanyashree Chaudhary is a light-hearted Journalism student from Delhi. She’s crazy about her love for graphic designing, Oreo shakes and Daft Punk. Find her the happiest while she’s travelling!

When I was little, my mom used to tell me a story. It tells about a man who once found a cocoon of a butterfly.

One day a little opening showed up in the cocoon. He sat and kept watching the butterfly for a few hours, as it attempted to compel its body through that little opening.

At a point, it appeared to quit gaining any progress. It looked up as though it had reached the extent that it could, and it could go no further. So the man chose to help the butterfly. He took a couple of scissors and cut off the rest of the bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly at that point rose effectively, but with a swollen body and little, withered wings. The man kept on watching the butterfly, since he expected that, at any minute, the wings would broaden and extend to have the capacity to help the body, which would contract in time.

But neither happened!

Truth be told, the butterfly spent whatever remained of its life creeping around with a swollen body and wilted wings. It could never fly.

What the man, in his will to help, did not comprehend was that the confining cocoon and the battle were required for the butterfly. The effort would force liquid from the butterfly’s body into its wings, so it would be prepared for flight once it left the cocoon.

As a child, I was completely mad at the man, but now I understand how this story connects with our everyday life.

The sad end of butterfly taught me two main lessons, and they gave me the strength to welcome every challenge with an open heart.

1. Challenges help us in our personal growth

We say we want to have a smooth cruising life, without any issues and problems at all. It is certainly impractical thus, imagine a scenario in which you have a life without any problem? Wouldn’t it bore if everything that happened was what you anticipated?

By chance, if you can accomplish anything without hard work, would you be delighted after you achieve something awesome?

Why people like sports, beginning a business or playing games? Since it is hard, challenging and winning it influences you to feel excited about your achievements.

Problems can be a helpful obstacle that once we manage to get past it, we will gain tremendous insights and experience that will be most helpful to our personal growth.

2. Some problems you must face by yourself

We also saw that the person cutting the cocoon and enabling the butterfly to leave it effectively, out of his own consideration.

Do you believe he was truly helping the butterfly? In a roundabout way, he made the butterfly creep on the floor for whatever remained of its life, despite the fact that it wasn’t his intention.

We have discovered that we should be more mindful of the circumstance before loaning help. Try not to offer help to the individual for a temporary relief. As a long-term goal, it can cause it to become more independent and pass out additional support throughout everyday life.

For example, some of us are really bad at maths, English language etc. I was bad in the English language and could not understand tenses. So I found an easy way out!

I started copying my homework and cheating in my examinations. My friends were glad that they helped me, even though they knew they were harming me in the long run.

Then one day, the teacher changed our seating arrangements, and I had to start studying by myself. Had I not really tried understanding tenses myself and with the help of my teachers, I wouldn’t have been at the place where I am today: writing blogs and writing my own book.

I would never have realized my true qualities.

Give people a chance to develop themselves and sparkle.

I am certain that, not far off, they will be appreciative of you.

Let’s kickstart our day with the lesson from this beautiful story and see every problem as a step to get out of our comfort zone and discover our true potential! ?

And if you know som people who need to have a better acceptance of challenges, how about you share this with them?

If you like this post you may also like: “Golden Routine”

Do you want to step out more to explore your potential by contributing towards United Nations’ SDGs and help us change the world? Check our leadership programs at www.aiesec.in.

Written by

Anisha Bhawanani is graduated in Marketing and Finance and loves writing. She is a happy go lucky girl with a head full of dreams, very passionate about traveling and exploring different cultures. One day she wants to win a man booker prize.

Tag: problems

How to Confront Problems and Take Bold Decisions