Change Your Attitude Toward Problems

In flying, the word "attitude" refers to the angle of flight of your approach relative to the horizon. The way you think about a problem determines your attitude, or approach, as well. You can use three words to change your attitude and your approach to any difficulty you face.

Situation
First of all, change the word "problem" to the word "situation." Whereas "problem" is a negative word that triggers feelings of fear and anxiety, "situation" is neutral. Instead of saying, "We have a problem," you can say, "We have a situation."

Challenge
My personal preference is to change the word "problem" to the word "challenge." Whenever something goes wrong, immediately say, "We have an interesting challenge facing us today." "Challenge" is a positive word. When you think of a challenge, you think of something that you rise to, something that brings out the best in you and others. Challenges are what make life exciting and worth living. By rising to the challenges of day-to-day life, you fulfill more and more of your potential.

Opportunity
Perhaps the best word of all is "opportunity." Instead of saying, "We have a problem," you can say, "We have an unexpected opportunity." Napoleon Hill is famous for saying, "Every problem or difficulty you face contains the seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit." Your job is to find the benefit, and this way of approaching a problem is determined by your attitude.

Attitude
This attitude of looking for the good in every situation, of looking for the advantage or benefit in any problem or difficulty, is the way that the most successful people think most of the time. Superior people, leaders in all areas, face the inevitable ups and downs of daily life on the way to their destinations by taking complete control of their thinking and their emotions. They do this by choosing the words they use to describe a situation, their tone of voice, and their behavior in dealing with problems.

Action Exercise
A mark of maturity, a vital quality on the road to success, happiness, and balance in life, is expecting problems and difficulties as normal, natural, and unavoidable parts of life. Becoming a superior person requires accepting that when you set off toward a big, exciting goal or destination, you will experience unexpected turbulence.

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