Overcome ANY Problem in 4 Steps?

Every Sunday, I send you something to THINK about, a question to ASK yourself, something to TRY and invite you to SHARE.

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THINK

“Every problem has a solution, it may sometimes just need another perspective.”
Katherine Russell

I have a weird addiction.

I’ve never admitted it publicly before.

Some of you will think it’s weird.

Others will relate 100%.

Try not to judge me. Here it is…

I absolutely LOVE cleaning out my ears with cotton buds.

To the extent, I’ll hurt my ears to do it.

When it’s been a few days, I’ve just got out of the shower, and I gently slip in one of those beautiful buds, it sends me to a blissful place for 20 seconds.

I’ve never tried coke, crack or heroin (as I’ve heard they’re a bit moreish), but I can only imagine it being right up there.

My one ear has been a little off recently.

It’s felt like there’s something up there. I try to fix it with the most tried and tested method of leaving it and hoping it goes away…

But it doesn’t work. Huh.

It’s still there. If I’m honest with myself, it might be getting worse.

So, I decided to do what I should have done all along and go to the doctor.

The nurse took a look and within 3 seconds confirmed, “Well, that’s why your ear feels funny. You’ve got a massive hole in it.”

I was shocked, “What?! I’ve perforated my eardrum? How?”

And then it hit me…

A couple of weeks ago, I was cleaning out my ears with a bud and thought I ‘poked’ my eardrum. That must have been it! Shit!

I perforated the same eardrum about 15 years ago in a car accident. It’s never been 100% since, but I’m somewhat familiar with the process.

The nurse reassured me that it was nothing to worry about. It’s essentially a layer a skin and it should heal in time. We set up an appointment to see a specialist in 4 weeks.

I was shocked. I’d pierced my eardrum with a bloody cotton bud and had been walking around for weeks without realising.

Only, now I knew…

and it bothered me.

All I could think about was the flapping within my ear. My compulsive brain kicked in. I couldn’t focus on anything.

I felt a bit sick and even faint. You know, like a REAL man!

WHY?!

I’ve had this BEFORE. I KNEW I was fine. I KNEW it would heal. And I DIDN’T care about this a few hours ago.

This was a tiny health concern, and it knocked me off track for the rest of the day.

I’m sure it’s happened to you… Not cotton bud addiction or perforating your eardrum, but having an incident knock you off track for a day, week or longer.

I reminded myself of the ‘How to Overcome ANY Problem in 4 Steps’.

You can use this process to solve any problem you face. Big or small. I’ve found it incredibly useful.

How to Overcome ANY Problem in 4 Steps

1. Look for Solutions and Take Action

Dive into ‘solution mode’ and look for fixes.
Make a list of possible actions you can take.
Prioritise the tasks and make a plan.
Get busy!

There was nothing I could do to help the healing process. The nurse just suggested avoiding dirty or chlorinated water.

2. Accept What is Happening

Once you’ve taken action on your plan, accept what is.
This is Stoicism 101. Act on things you control, and accept what is not.
SUFFERING = PAIN x RESISTANCE
Stop resisting, and you’ll reduce suffering. Put another way, accept.

It was annoying that there wasn’t much I could do to help the healing process, so I quickly found myself here. It is what it is.

3. Be Grateful

Amor Fati = Love Fate
A step up from acceptance is to LOVE what is.
Can you find a space to be grateful for this disturbance?
Can you learn something?

What I had was a little inconvenient, but not a big deal. Millions of people would WISH to have a perforated eardrum over Cancer, Depression or Diabetes. Be grateful.

4. Get Perspective

You’re problems are NOT that important, and that’s important!
When you get here, remind yourself of how insignificant your problem is in the perspective of the Universe.

See below…

You’re NOT a Big Deal

When I’ve worked through steps 1-3, I remind myself how insignificant my problems are in the perspective of the Universe.

Give it a try and see what I mean…

Your problem isn’t big.

If you’re standing at sea level with a clear view, you can see the horizon, which is approximately 4 miles away. That’s a lot of space.

Now, consider the size of the Earth.

Its circumference is approximately 24,901 miles. If you could see 4 miles into the horizon, you’d need to do that 6,225 times to circumnavigate the globe.

It’s hard to wrap your head around.

The Earth is dwarfed by the Sun. You could fit 1.3 million Earths into the Sun.

If you were to shrink the Sun down to the size of the dot in this letter “i” in this very sentence, then the relative size of our galaxy, the Milky Way, would be the size of the Earth.

Astronomers found a tiny section of the night sky that appeared to be empty. And by ‘tiny’, I mean the size of the tip of a pin if you held it out at arm’s length. This minuscule section of the sky appeared to be completely void of celestial light. The astronomers positioned the Hubble Telescope on this tiny spot and let it absorb light for ten days.

Do you know what they found?

In that nanoscopic dark space, which appeared empty, they found 3,000 galaxies.

Take a moment to visualise the vastness of space.

Now let me blow your mind with the Cosmic Calendar and the concept of time.

You’re not a big deal.

The cosmic calendar is a method to visualise the history of the Universe by compressing its 13.8 billion-year lifespan into a single year. This concept, popularised by Carl Sagan, makes it easier to grasp the scale of cosmic time:

1st January: The Big Bang occurs, marking the beginning of the Universe.
Early February: The first stars and galaxies form.
March-May: The Milky Way Galaxy forms.
September: The solar system forms. Earth forms around 21st September.
Late September: Simple life forms appear on Earth.
November: More complex life forms begin to evolve.
Mid-December: Dinosaurs appear (around 26th December).
30th December: Dinosaurs go extinct.
31st December: Human ancestors begin to walk upright in the evening.
31st December, 11:52 PM: Modern humans (Homo sapiens) appear.
31st December, 11:59:46 PM: Recorded human history begins.

So, what can we take away from the perspective of the Universe?

We all fixate on problems and dramas, fears and frustrations, and not having a certain something in life, but when you step back and consider the size of the Universe and the length of time we’re alive in the scope of the Cosmic Calendar, we start to realise that the negative thoughts and feelings we’re experiencing right now, really don’t matter.

We’re NOT a big deal, and we never will be.

Our lives are less significant than a blink of an eye in the cosmic calendar. We’re a speck of dust on a giant blue planet floating around a star among trillions of galaxies.

And so are our problems.

Perhaps that insecurity, frustration or fear you’ve allowed to control you just isn’t worth it.

Reflect and share this with someone.

ASK

“Which step do you forget to take when faced with a problem?”

“Why do cotton earbuds feel so frickin’ good?”

Write down what comes to mind.

TRY

Save this page, screenshot the steps, or copy and paste them into a Word doc.

The next time you’re faced with an obstacle, concern or problem (Money, Relationships or Health), work through the 4 steps:

1. Look for Solutions and Take Action

Make a list of possible actions you can take.
Prioritise the tasks and make a plan.
Take Action.

2. Accept What is Happening

Once you’ve taken all the actions in your plan, accept what it.
Stop resisting and accept your circumstances.

3. Be Grateful

Find the silver lining.
Find the learning.
Be grateful for what’s happening.

4. Get Perspective

The size of the Earth compared to the Sun, compared to the Universe.
The pin held at arm’s length in the darkest space = 3,000 galaxies.
Human history began 14 seconds before midnight on the Cosmic Calendar. are You’re problems are NOT that important and that’s important!
We are insignificant (Boo!), and so are your problems (Yay!).

HIT REPLY and let me know which step do you struggle to implement? Or how you overcome problems?

I read and reply to every email, and remember, I’m rooting for you!

Remember: Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

Reply to this email and share how it went for you. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.