PROBLEM/WORRY-FREE LIFE

 FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:

  

PROBLEM/WORRY-FREE LIFE

 

Is there anything like problem/worry-free life? Certainly not! Problems and worries are part of the life game/scheme Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you but embolden you to face challenges, revitalize your body and mind, and bring to the fore your hidden potential to overcome trying times.

 

Smooth roads make no good drivers, smooth seas make no good sailors, and clear sky makes no good pilots. A problem-free life will not produce experts/masters. So, be bold and face challenges.

 

Our body has three laboratories - physical, chemical, and psychological. Even if one goes wrong, faulty, amiss, or astray, diseases or other problems crop up. It is well-nigh impossible to prevent or avoid certain problems altogether in life. Face them courageously.

 

The worst problem to overcome is worry and fear. Handle a problem as an opportunity as it usually comes with a solution albeit hidden and under wraps, which one has to search for, discern, decipher and unlock. Only the weak have problems but the strong have solutions. Be strong.

 

In fact, a problem well-defined, viewed in the right perspective, and rightly understood, is half-solved. For some problems, you don’t have quick fixes and, in fact, some contentious/complex ones may need a mix of solutions.

 

The problem of solving a problem is not a problem, but when a problem solves a problem without any problem then the problem is not at all a problem! Any problem!?

 

Worry is basically a misuse of wild and spooky imaginations stemming from negative visualization and pessimistic perceptions.

 

If you can solve a problem, what and where is the need for worry? But if you can’t solve it, then again what is the use of worrying? Try your best to find a solution to drive away the problem preemptimg the worry.

 

For attempting solution(s) to varied problems, here are some tips:

 

One is supposed to be in the know of the entire gamut of a given lurking problem, its origin, its nuts and bolts, the nitty-gritty, etc. for an in-depth study, preponderance of probabilities and possibilities, and finally, an effective solution. A self-brainstorming would help figure out the problem threadbare and churn out the solution. 

In some cases, a gain for one is necessarily a loss for another and vice versa. This may be borne in mind during the solution search.

 

If a problem is due to one or more of your own reasons or making, like anger, greed, ego, laziness, and/or avarice, nothing can help. In respect of other problems, we should get rid of the thorny area(s) with cool, calm, unbiased, and dispassionate approach and attitude for an appropriate solution.

 

The solution should be a right and equitable one, according to your conscience. If the solution is attempted through wrong means, it may even have a backlash, boomeranging on you and complicating things giving room to beget more problems, just like in a case where you tell an unwanted lie, you then invent concocted and cooked up false stories and tell a trail of lies to maintain that single lie.

 

If the problem relates to happiness/peace of mind on one hand, and  money/prestige on the other, it is preferable to attempt and settle for a solution for the former rather than harp on self-assumed pride. For mental health is more precious than the material wealth.

 

Sometimes, in the garb of a problem, something good may befall us, like a ‘blessing in disguise’. For facts remain and perceptions differ.

 

The most destructive habit is worry. Why worry? Make things happen to keep your worries at bay.

 

You can’t put back the clock or change the past. Worrying and brooding over the uncertainty of the future leads you nowhere.  Try to trash your worries.

 

Heidi McDonald said, “If Plan ‘A’ didn’t work, don’t worry, the alphabet has 25 more letters.”

If you let your mind become cluttered with worries, they make your mind smudged, confused, and clueless giving less space for the good stuff. Always  avoid/eliminate things that are the cause of worry, or create and/or re-create things the lack of which is the cause of your worry! 

 

Also, don't worry about the world's opinion against you or your action(s) if you are overwhelmingly convinced that you are right and virtuous.

 

Whether you are an overnight success or are taking a slow walk along your path, there will be times when you may even stumble and the choices made in the moment don't work out.  When you stumble, just make it part of your dance.

 

Challenge your negative thoughts by asking yourself:

 

• What’s the evidence that your thought is right/true or otherwise?
• Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation/problem?
• What’s the probability that what I’m scared of will surely happen? Whether the probability is high or low? In either case, what will be the likely outcome?
• Is the thought helpful? How will worrying about it help me or how will it hurt me?
• What would I say to a friend who had this worry?

Over-brooding makes one tense and edgy. Most chronic worriers are usually carried away by thoughts beset with anxiety, apprehensions, and disquiet as a habit or norm fueled by negative feelings of helplessness. Constant and intense worrying is harmful, both to your physical health and psychological wellness. Stop your feelings or perceptions, if any, that smacked of desperation, despair, despondency, and hopelessness. Unremitting worrying, if not controlled, will lead to further worries in an endless spiral with recurring ripple effects.

 

Worrying is often a way we try to predict what the future has in store for us, according to our understanding of a given situation and/or problem  vis-à-vis our self-perceived possible fallout, repercussions, and/or ramifications, a way to wish the problem away and prevent unpleasant surprises from springing up as a result.

 

There are also positive beliefs about worry. Some psychology experts opine one needs to have some/limited worries in life due to some unfavourable developments, some nagging feelings, some imaginary negative notions/misgivings, some flimsy botches, deficits, deficiencies, and/or negligible failures - natural or self-made - that could keep the body and mind active, alert, progressive, pushing, and, above all, effective! For it may give you a cushion of constant carefulness and pep to your preparedness to be perfect in all activities including your mindset not to overlook any aspect/factor, however small it is yet material, relevant, and germane to the given problem!

 

It’s hard and tough to break the worry chain once you get enmeshed in it. But if you realize that worrying itself is a problem, not the solution, you will become bold enough to take it head on and can control your worried mind with positive plumes turning the situation in your favour.

 

(R.SAMPATH)

25/12/2023