Everyone has problems. No one is immune from having difficulty in life. Though we strive to live a problem-free life we will never truly attain it. And if you do…you aren’t truly living anyway. We know we’re growing when we have problems. Problem-free living is actually a bigger problem that not having problems. You see, the bigger the problems you have, the bigger the potential there is. Author Dr. Malcom Matlz said, “We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.” Big problems are what great people face. Small problems are what average people face. Big thinking creates big problems. And it is much better to have big problems than to never have any at all.

So instead of resenting your problems start embracing them with courage. If you allow your problems to win…you’ll lose. The goal is to beat your problems by rising above them and extracting solutions. I like how Alfred A. Montapert said, “Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” Stop wishing you had it easier and start working to become better.

Here are 4 tips on how to successfully deal with problems…

1) Step Back From Your Problems And Gain Perspective

Usually we are too close to our problems to understand what they really are. We focus way too much on the symptoms and not the illness. If there is rotten fruit there is a destructive root. We have to shift our focus from what is seen to what may be unseen. Find the cause. Get perspective and deal with the problem head on. Henry Ford said, “Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” Stepping back gives you the clarity to charge ahead with a plan. Never deal with a problem when you are still in the emotional debris caused from it.

2) Deal With Yourself Then Deal With The Problem

You can’t solve problems in the wrong state of mind. If you are angry, hurt, bitter, or frustrated at your problems it can easily cloud your judgement. Don’t react to problems…act on problems. The more emotional invested you are into a problem the harder it becomes to solve it. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” To solve our problems we have to rise above them with a fresh mindset.

3) Stay Committed To The Solutions

Robert H. Schuller said, “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” You can’t allow your problems to derail your progress. When you stop trying to break through you’ll eventually break down. You have to understand that you will be tempted to quit when you face obstacles. Whatever road you are on you can rest assured that there will be problems. In fact, the road to success is filled with obstacles. It is only the ones that keep on keepin’ on who truly make it to the end. The more problems you navigate through the easier it is to deal with them. This is why highly successful people keep incredibly calm when facing big problems that others would freak out about. If you remain faithful to keep pressing on you will become stronger and stronger after each issue you tackle. Consider it part of the initiation to success. Difficulties don’t exist to make life harder, they exist to make us stronger. Einstein also said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

4) Surround Yourself With Problem Solvers

If you hang out with small thinking people you will always face insignificant problems. But when you hang with big thinking people your big problems will become smaller. The problem didn’t change, but the ability to think through them did. If you want to breakthrough problems you have to have an inner circle that can help you. Lyndon B. Johnson said, “There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.” If you are facing a problem who do you go to? Who are the people that you surround yourself with that help you extract solutions? Everyone should have someone that they can go to. If you do not have someone you can go to…you’re mission is to find that someone and develop that relationship. We were built for community to bare each other’s burdens.