What If Your Problems Are Actually Gifts?
Discover How One Journal Prompt Can Change Your Mindset
What if I told you the problems you’re stressing about today might actually be something to be grateful for?
Sounds strange, doesn’t it?
But stick with me—this might just change how you see your life.
One thing that's constant in life is problems. Everyone has them—whether you're rich or poor, old or young, strong or weak. Problems are universal, but they’re not all bad.
In fact, Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** suggests a powerful way to rethink them.
Here’s his prompt...
What problems do you have today that you would have been grateful for in the past?
The mistake most people make is that we assume problems are inherently bad.
They're not.
The problems aren't the problem. How we think about the problems is the problem (I'll give you a second to reread that).
As we go through life, our problems change.
Whether it's money problems, health problems or relationship problems, our problems shift with us. What we don't often realise is the problems we're facing today are sometimes problems we would have been grateful to have 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years ago.
For example:
The stress of managing a demanding career might have been a dream when you were struggling to find a job.
The challenges of parenting might be what you once longed for when you were hoping to start a family.
Even the pressures of maintaining a busy social life could be something you wished for when you felt isolated or lonely.
When you take a step back and reflect on what you think are bad problems —and remember how much we would've wished to have these problems in the past—you can become more grateful and happy to have the problems in our life.
So, the next time you feel weighed down by your problems, take a moment to pause.
Ask yourself:
would the ‘you’ from 5 years ago have been grateful to have these problems?
When you look at it that way, you might realise just how far you’ve come—and perhaps even feel a little more grateful for where you are today.
Image credits: Created by Readwise app from my highlights of The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck
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