Creating a Problem Free Life 

What is a problem anyway? The dictionary defines it
as: A situation, matter, or person that presents
perplexity or difficulty. We hear about it frequently
"I have a problem with that"; "the problem is.....", "we
have a problem here."; or "the only problem with that
would be".  Everyone seems eager to find the problem.

The root of any problem is resistance, specifically
resistance to the issue, person, or circumstance.  If
the problem is big, then there is a lot of resistance,
if the problem is small, there is little resistance.

Resistance comes in many flavors.  You may be
conscious of the resistance and why you resisting or
it may be unconscious,  like an old belief system,
scarcity thinking, or limiting beliefs.  When you're
resisting something you're pushing against it.  Take
for example the problem person in your life.  There's
the story of why you don't get along or like the
person and then there's the resistance underneath the
story.  There may be a shadow trait that the person
exhibits, which you have a judgment about or an
unconscious belief that when someone does X the only
option is to do Y. 

This doesn't mean you have to like
everyone and everything. On the other hand, just
because you don't like someone or something doesn't
mean it's a problem.  It's all a matter of how you
choose to perceive the situation.

You can choose not to spend your time and energy with
someone that you don't like.  That may not always be
easy, but you could do that.  You can choose to
'agree to disagree', essentially acknowledging that
you're not on the same page or wavelength and
releasing any judgment about it.  This includes
releasing the need to be right. There is an old saying
that says, "Do you want to be happy, or do you want to
be right?". 

There is no single right way, we all
define that for ourselves.  Think about how many of
many of our new inventions come from 'out-of-the-box'
thinking. When you resist different ways of doing
things you limit your possibilities and often miss the
pearl inside of the difficulty.

To shift your, perception of a problem try this,
choose a problem in your life:

1. What is it about this problem that really activates
you? Write down all your feelings about it.   

2. Look at what you wrote down and circle all the
words that have an emotional charge to them. ie: words
like angry, hate, afraid, mad, and upset.

3. Now take a piece of paper and write, What If on the
top, then make two columns. At the top of the first
one, write Instead Of at the top and at the top of
second one write I Choose.

4. Write the words from step number three in the first
column.

5. In the second column writer, better feeling words.
ie: angry might be neutral, hate might be accept,
afraid might be trust.  Remember to choose words that
resonate with you and try not to make a shift that's
unbelievable to you like moving from hate to love.

6. When you're done read each line and affirm that
it's your new intention. ie:  What if instead of
feeling really angry I choose to accept the situation
or What if it was my intention to shift this anger to
neutrality.  Yes, I can do this.

7. When you're finished take a few deep breaths
feeling the shift of perception and energy, allowing
it to move through your body.

8. Press your pinky and thumb together as a physical
reminder of this space.  Take three deep breaths,
really anchoring the feeling.

When you feel activated by a problem simply squeeze
your thumb and pinky finger together to, remind you
that it's possible to reduce or remove the resistance
you're feeling and experience the situation in a whole
new way. 

It may take practice to remove the
resistance and make your life a problem free zone.
But as you do your possibilities and personal peace
expand exponentially.