Creative and Collaborative Problem-Solving Advances and Empowers Us
Embrace Challenges.
In life, we often encounter obstacles that seem insurmountable. These challenges can range from personal struggles to professional roadblocks, and they can either hold us back or serve as a catalyst that propels us forward. However, one fundamental truth remains: the only way to discover the solution is to face the problem head-on. We can only begin to understand the cause needing constructive attention and action by confronting the problem.
Personal Example.
Seventeen years ago, I acknowledged I had an alcohol problem. Two years before that, I had an alcohol problem but ignored it, and it grew. It was gaining power over me and my life. The day I looked in the mirror and saw an alcoholic was the day I took my power back and began what it took to cease being one. The alcohol was not the problem but a symptom of an underlying landmine of severe and complex issues I'd been running from for thirteen years at that point. I was twenty-four.
The alcohol was anaesthetising my pain, fear, trauma and confusion. That was the challenge I faced--working through the reasons I drank rather than the physiological withdrawal and habit of consuming alcohol. I learned to work through the distressing emotions, memories and false beliefs about myself, others and the world.
Withdrawing from alcohol, losing my drinking buddies who I thought were friends and going out dancing was nothing in comparison to remembering everything I'd done to make myself forget what I’d never talk about.
It was the same but in different ways with ceasing to be a pack of 30-a-day smoker and someone who misused pharmaceuticals to alleviate emotional and physical pain and to be as high as I could get.
The only way I could find life beyond all the problems that lay beneath my addiction to cigarettes, alcohol and pharmaceuticals was by looking the monster directly in the eye and deconstructing it seventeen years ago. I accepted that it might kill me, and that's how it felt at times. I chose sobriety even if it killed me over and over again. But it didn't. Eventually, I learned how to manage the temptation to drink, have a cigarette or take painkillers like a parent with child taking a tantrum. I'd stay calm and feel the temptation with the understanding that that's what was going on, and it would pass. Without confronting the reality of the beast that is the origin of my life's problems, the underlying issues along with the severity of my addictions would have grown.
We Need Never be Alone in Overcoming our Obstacles, but we must Ask for Support to Receive it.
I wasn't alone in giving up my addictions. I had a psychologist through The University of Melbourne Health Services. She was the only one who knew. She was the first person I'd ever asked for help. I was twenty-three when we first started working together. So it was her that made me realise I had an addiction problem.
I hid the severity of my addictions and the process of giving them up to everyone else, which meant I became a hermit for a long time. I didn't know how to socialise without alcohol. One of the reasons I drank so much was to overcome social anxiety, and without alcohol, it came back even worse.
As previously mentioned, I was also struggling with the past; I'd been drinking and drugging myself to forget. The psychologist stayed with me for as long as she could until she organised to transfer me to a psychoanalytic psychotherapist twice a week. I was a sessional tutor then, and there was a limit to the number of sessions a staff member could engage. Also, she realised I needed someone who specialised in complexity trauma and abuse.
The psychoanalytic psychotherapist helped me be here today. Other than those two hours a week, I was alone. I didn't have to be, but I was too ashamed to let anyone else know. Nor could I have trusted anyone else to support me at my life's most vulnerable and delicate time. I had to stop teaching and put my PhD on pause.
At the Root of any Issue is a Cause.
Ignoring hurdles and personal issues may temporarily relieve them but ultimately lead to stagnation. Growth and progress require us to confront the problems that stand in our way, acknowledge their presence, and actively seek solutions. This requires courage, resilience, and a willingness to embrace discomfort and the work involved in changing what isn't working. Looking away or ignoring an issue's existence doesn't make it disappear. For the problem to go away, we need to constructively engage with deactivating the cause.
The Path to Sustainable Solutions
When we confront our challenges, we open ourselves to a world of possibilities beyond the reality the problems stifle us within. We tap into our creativity, resourcefulness, and inner strength, discovering new pathways forward that we may not have previously considered. By tackling problems directly, we gain valuable insights and experiences that contribute to our personal and professional development. The second we name the issue negatively impacting us is the moment we take an empowered stance. Ignoring a personal or professional difficulty means we lose our power to it. We also lose the higher quality of life on the other side of working through what isn't working for us, negatively impacting or holding us back.
Game On.
Confronting challenges fosters a mindset of resilience and adaptability. Rather than being derailed by setbacks, barriers, and unnecessary complications, we learn to view them as opportunities for growth and simplifying our lives with efficient alternatives. We become more adept at navigating adversity, finding ways to pivot and persevere. We don't need others to believe in us to take that initial step in venturing forth because we know we have what it takes to back what is best for us. We also know that true allies are bound to cross paths--like magnetises like.
The key to a better way begins with acknowledging what's in the way.
Recognising that finding solutions can be challenging and personally confronting is essential. It requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to experiment with new ways of thinking, perceiving, behaving, and emotionally processing challenging experiences. However, by approaching problems with a proactive attitude, self-esteem and conviction, we increase our chances of a better life and invest our energy and resources in intentional and sustainable improvement.
Keep Going.
Ultimately, every challenge we encounter is an opportunity to improve ourselves, situations and environments. Whether overcoming a personal obstacle, addressing a systemic issue, or tackling a complex problem, there's always a way forward. By facing our challenges head-on, we not only unlock solutions but also cultivate a mindset of confident autonomy, integrity and growth that serves us well in all areas of life.
Live Like a boss.
A problematic situation is a call to action. Whether we answer the call like a boss concerned with the most efficient effort and the optimal solution is up to us. To accept a challenge as an invitation to change and grow is to embrace the very nature of life itself. It takes change to discover a solution that extends us beyond our current limitations. By confronting a problem or setback head-on, we say yes to a life beyond it.
Problem-Solving Together is better.
With appropriate support, we can embrace any challenge. With allies, the experience of harnessing our inner strength and trusting that there is always a way to improve things and work through challenges sustainably is enriching. We never have to figure out personal, professional or social issues alone. Reaching out to work with people is the most dynamic way to find a better reality beyond any difficulty.
Lesson Learnt.
I wish it hadn't taken me until I was 40 to open myself to the world and people enough to realise the transformative power of working with a network of trustworthy, diversely skilled, and open-minded people. That's how innovative solutions arise. What burdens and buries us in the complexity of what causes the problem takes much longer and is more painful to work out alone.