Have you ever noticed how sometimes everything looks like a problem and sometimes little to nothing does? Some mornings I get on the highway in rush hour traffic (or at least I used to) and everyone seems out to get me in their multiton vehicle. Other days I couldn’t be bothered to notice. My mind is on more interesting things and I’m driving on autopilot. Still massive traffic, still discourteous drivers, still multiton vehicles but they’re in my mental rear view mirror.
It’s that way with big problems, too. So when is a big problem not a problem? When you think it’s not! Of course you could think it is and then it would be, but I digress.
How big a problem is or isn’t depends on the quality of the thinking you have about it.
Seems kind of obvious right? But let’s take a closer look at what this means and why it’s worth noting.
When I have a big project spanning weeks, how it looks to me will vary by week, by day, by hour and sometimes by minute. Project is the same. Problem experienced with it is different. That comes from the state of mind I’m in, the mental place I’m viewing it from at any given moment. It has zero to do with the project. On my way to work it looks one way, after lunch another way, in the evening, still another way.
So why do we try to solve our problems when we are the least able to do so, when they look massive, complex and insurmountable and everything surrounding them does too?
Because of that very reason. Your state of mind is dictating how bad it all looks.
How can you solve something, anything in that state? Well, you can’t! There’s static on the line and you’ve lost all connection to your clarity and high quality thinking. Stressful thinking is what you’re experiencing and it’s the exact opposite of what you need.
Everyone knows what a clear connection is like, how much easier everything looks and how much quicker useful solutions arrive. They and you have just lost sight that it’s always available. Access is the only issue. Access to your best thinking comes with clarity. Solutions come from your best thinking.
So next time notice where you are on your clarity of mind meter. It might be a big important project and you need effective solutions pronto. You’ll get them faster just knowing that clarity is the only worthwhile state to solve any problem from. Check your meter first.
Artwork: Symmetry Drawing by M.C. Escher