It’s easier to look beyond a problem than to direct our focus at solving it and learning from it. This comes as a result of our lack of awareness around the potential benefits that could come from thrusting ourselves into the metaphorical fire with an open mind and being willing to subject ourselves to some form of hardship in pursuit of a greater objective.
We may tell ourselves that we’re ambitious, driven people, but our identity and personal composition are much more accurately described through what we do than what we say we do. “Easier said than done,” we’ll say, not realizing that we exhibit this banality in nearly every aspect of our lives. The shift, I would think, is to reframe the problem in our mind. Rather than telling ourselves “what is the quickest, least painful way to get out of this?” we should ask ourselves “what can I learn from this? How can I come out from this situation better equipped than I was before?”.
Instead of mulling over the unfortunate circumstance we’ve found ourselves in, we can look for opportunities for growth. After all, this is our life, the only one we’ve got. Like it or not, this is the hand we’ve been dealt, so we might as well play it out. You can play the hand or sit it out, but either way we’re still waiting for the next round to be dealt.