When i was in school, like any other normal kid I used to hate maths. I didn’t understand a word of it. I was devastated to find out that there is this magical device called “calculator” that can solve maths problem and directly give you an answer within fraction of a second, I literally cried and didn’t eat for 8 hours. My mother only understood my problem as she is from a non engineering field and she always used to encourage me by saying “If you will not face your problem now they will continue to follow you till you are ready to face them”. Little did we both knew how absolutely right she was as I had to embrace Mathematics and Statistics in Pharmacy later (for the rest of my life). The same problem i faced in inter with chemistry. One day my teacher, may Allah bless him, after giving me a C for the 7th time in a class test called me in his office and said ” I can see that you are having some hatred issues so here is what I want you to do, from today onward you will think of chemistry as your younger sister, you will love it as much as you love your sister, you will talk to it as if its your best friend and you will read it as if its your favorite novel on earth” . Shocking as it may seem but i secured an A in finals after following his advise.
Life is not easy and it is not problem free, I realized it while looking for x in algebra and learning the periodic table by heart. Now that I’m mature and have two or three grey hair I know that their are much bigger problem than finding x in life , but one thing I know is that my mom’s formula is applicable in almost all the situations. As long as I have the courage to face my problems and the sooner I confront them the quicker they will go. There are a million ways to solve problems because like someone said, with authority comes responsibility so does with problems comes solutions. The most important step is to accept the reality that problems exist and as long as we are breathing they are not going to leave us alone at all. To all those people who think this article is about a secret ancient recipe to get rid of problems for the rest of your life, I’m sorry to burst your bubble because you are mistaken. To those who want to stop running away from their issues and face it here are some ways (all tried and tested) to do so.
1. Accept the fact: Your problems are not a fictional character like Loki, they exist accept this fact and face it. Don’t run away from it. That pile of paperwork you have been hiding because you have no clue what to do with it, take it out from under your bed those papers exist accept it don’t dwell on it and start working on it.
2. Be a man and don’t give up: If you are a guy you must have heard this sentence a lot in your life. Specially when you hurt your self while playing cricket or hockey or football or baseball or list goes on.Your problems are just like your opposing team on a cricket field , be a man and face them. Don’t be a coward. Don’t be afraid of failing but be terrified of not trying.
3. Know your problems: You must figure out the nature of your problem. What category does it falls in. To win its better to know who you are fighting. Know about your problems write it down on a piece of paper if it helps, and it will take you to your next level to solving it. Collect all the info you can and analyze it. The more info you have the better.
4.Stop worrying and stay positive: Worry is a total misuse of time, its not going to take you anywhere. We know this line, Right?? but little do we take it seriously. No use to take those anti depressants and getting in a grumpy mood. Stop worrying and start focusing!!
“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be, it’s the way it is. The way you cope is what makes the difference.” – Virginia Satir
5. Move on: Its not important to win every time, but the important thing to remember is to learn from your mistakes and to let go. Do not waste your time by living in the past and wondering what went wrong you can’t change your past but you can change your future.
6. Stop the blame game: Don’t point fingers on others and give your self that tiny ounce of an assurance and satisfaction that because of him/her it happened. Your problems exist because of you! they are linked with you and not with others. Take accountability and take appropriate actions.
7. Do not over think: Imagine you are writing a piece of an article and you suddenly start thinking what if nobody likes it, but what if somebody does? what if people make fun of me for writing such a piece or what if I don’t do justice with the title? Thinking too much will ruin your work and it will shift your focus from the main issue. So chill on procrastinating.
8. Take help: Let others help you and ask for their help when needed. Let go of your ego and pride that you can do it on your own. Just like doctors need lab test to diagnose our disease similarly sometimes we need others like our friends, colleagues or family members to help us diagnose our problems and help us to tackle them. So take your juniors help the next time you face a problem in office.
9. Have faith: Last but not the least have faith, some times the greatest challenge and problem in your life leads you to the greatest moment of your life, they are there for a reason.
“There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them.
But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.”
( Paulo Coelho )
Remember it will all be worth it in the end because some one said life has an odd way of making things work out in the end! 🙂
Mishal Zaman
YoungPharmacists 