Opinions expressed by londonbusinessblog.com contributors are their own.
Many entrepreneurs are good at spotting problems, but few master the skill to turn their problems into satisfying, impactful opportunities. It’s most likely not because you’re a negative person — but because your brain is actually wired to identify and focus on it issues. In an effort to protect you, your brain is constantly looking for threats, problems and obstacles to avoid or overcome. We’ve been wired this way since the dawn of time.
In theory this doesn’t sound like a problem, but in reality (especially the reality of an londonbusinessblog.com) this way of approaching life can blind us to the life-changing opportunities ahead. Here are six steps to avoiding that, and ultimately, allowing your obstacles to help you become more resilient and relentless in pursuing your goals. Do this the next time your life or business presents you with a challenge or curveball you didn’t see coming:
Related: If You Want to Succeed, Restore Your Mindset
1. Discover the truth of the obstacle
Often when we experience a problem, we are too close to it to see it for what it really is. Before trying to solve something, give yourself the time and space to assess the obstacle for what it is. Do this by looking at the obstacle objectively and removing emotion and any prejudice. This can certainly be more difficult for some, but it’s critical to make sure you clearly know what the real problem is before going all in on coming up with a solution. Too many entrepreneurs approach their problems heavily blinded by emotion, leaving them either stuck and doing nothing at all, or running full steam ahead with dozens of ineffective solutions and misaligned ideas.
Ask yourself: what’s the real problem here? What is the real seriousness of the problem? Is this something that can really be solved now, or should I allocate more time and space to review it and brainstorm solutions?
2. Choose a new perspective
As simple as this sounds, it is not so simple in the application. The first step to creating something great out of a less than ideal situation is choosing to see it differently. Rather than dwell on the problem and focus all your energy on the fact that a problem exists, challenge yourself to look at it from a new angle.
For example, if a major customer doesn’t go through, does that ultimately mean you’re not meeting your monthly or annual revenue target? No. What if you chose instead to see it as an opportunity to raise your prices or pitch that new offering you’ve always thought of? What if that customer withdrawing was actually a blessing in disguise and saved you headaches for months?
Turning your obstacles into opportunities starts with becoming aware of the way you look at them – and challenging yourself when you’re negative. What you focus on grows, so if you focus on your problems, your problems will grow unconsciously. The key is to train your brain to think positively and look for solutions.
Related: How to Turn Business Obstacles into Opportunities
3. Remove “failure” from your vocabulary
If you didn’t believe that failure was possible, what would you do? Your perception of your problems will immediately change if you decide to adopt one of my favorite beliefs: failment does not exist. There are lessons to be learned in any difficult time, but that’s all. Failure doesn’t have to be an option in your life if you don’t allow it.
When you go through life believing that it really is impossible to fail, suddenly your obstacles don’t seem so impossible. You can scroll through the difficult chapters and remind yourself that you are learning to change your life classes, instead of “failed”.
The next time you face an obstacle and are afraid of failing, just ask yourself what you would do now if failure wasn’t an option. You will find that you are progressing faster, with more confidence and less fear.
4. Focus on what you do can do – not what you can’t
Complementary to step one, this is the next step to train your brain to be resilient and solution focused. It is no coincidence that the most successful entrepreneurs in the world have the ability to recognize a problem and quickly come up with a solution to solve it.
Instead of letting your brain focus on the things you can’t control, first make everything clear that is within your control. Make a list of everything you can control now. You’ll be surprised when opportunities you didn’t even think of present themselves – and you’ll feel confident in your ability to overcome your obstacle.
Related: 7 Ways to Build Resilience in Challenging Times
5. Take back your power
Think back to a time in your life when you were the answer to a problem. The truth is, we often get blinded and forget that we have all the power it takes to start that new business at some point or grow to the next level. If you only know that, you should be able to stand up, remember how capable you are, and take the next step to overcome your obstacle and turn it into something incredible.
6. Think “people first”
If you’ve ever had a mentor or colleague tell you how important it is to design your business with your client first, they’re right. Companies that take a customer-centric approach are almost guaranteed success and stay in the market for years. So as an londonbusinessblog.com, if you are faced with the following problem, challenge yourself to think about how you can come up with a solution that will help not only you, but also your customers. By putting your ideal customer at the center of your mind, you’re guaranteed to create a great experience that your customers will want to return to – and come up with creative ways to overcome your obstacles.
Briefly: Getting into trouble is inevitable as an londonbusinessblog.com. Achieving your version of success isn’t about wishing your problems away, it’s about approaching it from a new perspective. We all have obstacles – it’s about what you do with yours.
Contents