Hold On

When someone asks you to “hold on,” how to you look at that phrase? Do you have a positive feeling that you can do it? Do you you get a twist in your spine as you think, “You want me to do what?”

When you hear it, do you see it as encouragement to maintain your attitude or mental state? Is it an annoying ploy to get you to wait even longer? How you perceive that phrase can have a great impact on how you perceive life and all that it brings.

Seeing Problems

Honestly, I used to hate that phrase because I just knew that someone was going to disappoint me somehow. It triggered me all the time. It didn’t matter who said it or how it was said. I was sure it would turn out poorly whenever someone used it.

Why did I look at it that way? I loved to relive my past bad experiences and apply them to every situation I was in. When I listened to people, I looked for the negative content. I saw the problems they were bringing up. They couldn’t see the problems of course. Frustration was my way of dealing with them since they couldn’t see these things.

Finding problems became easy. I actually made it my career. It also seeped into my personality so much that people didn’t like being around me. I was a problem.

I chose to change careers from quality assurance to being an entrepreneur providing products and services for those wanting to be prepared. It is kind of laughable to think that I moved from finding problems and reporting them to providing solutions to those who often are the ones who can only see problems with society and deep down want to escape it. There was a problem. I hadn’t learned how to find solutions in my own life, so I was feeding fear without providing solutions.

Seeing Differently

As my business failed to move forward, I, of course, saw problems. I was also very good at pointing fingers at others and things what were keeping me from my goals. I didn’t have the skills to see the truth very practiced. The skills were there, but I hadn’t bothered to see them, get to know them, or use them.

I changed that. Let me share some simple steps to make that happen.

Own your current status. When I became accountable for my results, I started to see the real problems in my life. The beautiful thing about that was that I started to see how I could solve them too. As I stopped blaming others, I felt lighter. I removed a weight and the world became brighter. It wasn’t perfection overnight, but I practiced owning my results.
Look for solutions. Choosing to find solutions instead of dwelling on problems actually changes what you see. That is what you want. As your perspective changes, opportunities will start to open for you. Don’t push them away by falling back into negative thinking. It will be tempting to find the problems with the opportunities.
Acknowledge your successes. Seeing the good things that are happening around you will help you see so much more in the world to enjoy and anticipate that it will give you hope. I record my successes each day because I want to see differently. It works, but it takes practice.

Hold What is Important

I want to hold on. I want to grasp that which is really important to me. It provides value in my life as I seek to see the good my life has to offer. If you are thinking you are ready to start making those changes, I recommend that you find a mentor to help you through the process. I would be delighted to help you find how satisfying life is when you see things from a new perspective. Let me know if you are ready to talk about solutions that will help you move forward faster.

You can have more joy in your life. I also know that you have a beautiful smile that others need to see more.