post by Stephanie Nelson
Confession time: 2016 has been a complicated year for me so far – in being a business owner, in keeping up with social media and SEO algorithm changes, in my personal life. Things have ended up well so far, but for everything that’s been accomplished, nothing’s come easy. It’s all been a series of going over, around or through obstacles.
So I’ve been thinking about it. The word “complicated” sounds so awful. How many times in life do you WANT things to be complicated? If you’re anything like me, probably not often. But could it be that we’re all just looking at complicated things in the wrong way?
- Consider it…
You can dread dealing with a complicated client or putting together a complicated proposal. But when you’re done, haven’t you conquered that fear? Or at least proven to yourself you can do it? - Complicated problems can be a pain to work through, figure out and fix. But when it’s over, haven’t you learned something? That’ll never be a problem for you again because you’ll already know how to fix it.
- Difficult coworkers or vendors can make your whole work life complicated. But don’t you take away something from having to deal with them every day? Even if it’s learning when to walk away from an unimportant argument in order to keep your own reputation in tact, that’s something you gained from a complicated situation.
An old boss of mine used to say, “We don’t have problems. We have opportunities.” I’m thinking we should look at complications the same way – at work and at home. True enough, anything complicated can throw a wrench in your day, week, month, year or whatever. And complications are rarely pleasant at the time you’re dealing with them. But instead of getting mired down in the negatives, maybe we should all take a step back and look at what we’re getting, what we’re learning, what we’re working through. I’m not saying that’ll be easy or fun. But maybe it’s worth a try.
So what have you learned from complications in your life?
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