What's The Problem?

Unique Perspectives: What's The Problem?

By Kim Stevens

So, what’s the problem? 

Most of the time, there isn’t one … and that is the problem for me. 

Because any problem I’m often worried about exists nowhere but inside my own mind, a figment of imagination created from the stuff of non-existent anxieties that don’t have legs to stand on in the real world.

Someone once told me our brains are built to be problem-solvers. When there’s nothing there, our brain creates a problem to solve … or at least that’s what mine does.

If I’m thinking about something or scared of something and I think about it and think about it, I end up spiraling, free-falling, getting deeper inside my own head until honestly, I can get lost there with no apparent escape. 

Often, the way to fix this problem is by doing something else or thinking about something else. This is truly where the power lies. I have my “little things,” these go-to activities or ideas that make me happy and occupy my mind with cheery thoughts – practicing yoga, reading something inspiring, looking at something beautiful, decorating a room, thinking about a project that excites me, or seeing my granddaughter!

Redirecting my mind puts me in a happy state. And so if my mind was just playing with me and trying to get me to believe there was a problem where there was not, I am now out of that “loop.” And if there actually IS a problem to be solved, this happier state works like magic as thoughts start appearing in my head that are productive: “Oh yeah! I can do that." Or, "Oh I'm going to call this person!” Or “OMG what about approaching it this way?!”

It may sound very simplistic or even naive, but often the most profound things are. Changing our minds is one of the most powerful gifts we were given. The ability to take myself from a spiraling, overthinking state, to a mindset filled with happiness, optimism and solutions is nothing short of life-altering. Problem solved!