Change your attitude toward challenges

When marketing guy Scott Cook got frustrated with balancing his cheque books, he went ahead and started his very own software development company to help pay the bills. The result? Multi-billion dollar software company Intuit Inc. which has been helping countless individuals and small companies manage their finances. While we are not all entrepreneurial geniuses, there is something to be learnt from Mr. Cook's success story. You will probably have a hard time visualising turning a problem into an opportunity to grow, to make money or to make a change. But in the face of a challenge, the easier thing to do is to change the way you look at it. Change your frame of reference and the hypothetical train-wreck waiting for you on your office desk turns into a perfectly manageable situation that is well within your abilities to address. The way you think about the challenge at hand will determine your attitude or approach to it.

The first step is to change the word "challenge" or "problem" to "situation". While the words "challenge" and "problem" trigger emotions of apprehension, frustration and anxiety, "situation" is neutral. Say it to yourself: "We have a situation here". You will feel yourself getting freed from the psychological burden that you had been associating with the issue in your mind.

Another technique is to visualise what is threatening you. Do you see swiftly approaching walls closing in on you? Then get yourself a rope, or a ladder or even better, get yourself a jet pack. If you can do it in your head, it will be that much easier when you are doing it in real life because you have already faced your fears once. Once you have dealt with the emotional aspect, you can focus all your energy on coming up with a strategy or a plan of action.

The last piece of advice you should give to yourself when working on a challenge is to look for the advantages or benefits. Take a blank page and divide it down the middle. Now write "problems" on one side and "opportunities" on the other. These are the two sides to the challenge you are facing. Jot down everything that scares you under "problems". Once you're done with that, move to the "opportunities" column and write down what new capabilities your problem gives you. You got rotated to a new department? Think about all the ways you can make a great first impression – there's your trump card right there. 

You can't control what life throws at you, but you can take complete control of your thinking and your emotions. Next time you feel overwhelmed with all the lemons life throws at you, adjust your attitude and power on!

 

Writer is Sub-Editor of the career publication of The Daily Star. She is also a junior at the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka