March 9, 2020

How to defeat the problem box

Man lying on grass looking at blue sky

This is the eighth in a series of tips on how to handle crazy busy and not get caught up in the ‘fear’ of failing to handle it, and the resulting stress chemicals.

Eighth tip: How to defeat the problem box

We have all had the experience of a ‘Eureka’ moment when the solution to a problem pops unbidden into our mind. How does this happen?

Think of a problem as being in a box. When you are holding the problem tight in your mind, you are in the box with the problem and subject to the limitations of the box.

Sometimes we must let go in order to grab a problem in a different place or see it in a different way.

We need to disengage our conscious mind by meditation, playing football, socialising, having a nap, or if you are Dr House, watching General Hospital on TV. By the way, if you want a meditative TV programme, look on Netflix for Bob Ross and the Joy of Painting.

With your conscious mind ‘out to lunch’, your subconscious will roam free of the box and its limitations and see new possibilities and potential solutions.

The next time you bring your conscious mind back to the problem, do it gently in a relaxed state and ‘from a distance’. Notice what thoughts bubble up from your subconscious.

My best wishes, Paul

Paul Matthews

CEO and Founder of People Alchemy

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