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Reframing Obstacles Into Opportunities
"It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities." --Eric Hoffer
“It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities.” --Eric Hoffer
When I was a teenager, I had a teacher who was unbelievably optimistic and positive about everything. And since I was a teenager, I was sort of annoyed by this. According to this teacher, everything could be reframed from an obstacle or setback into a learning experience or challenge. Heartbreak. . . no problem. That was just preparation for clarifying what we wanted in a mate. Struggles in school. . . no big deal. These are simply self challenges to triumph over.
So annoying.
Now, as an adult, and a parent of teenagers (who happen to be extremely optimistic and positive kids), I realize that she was 100%, absolutely correct.
We’re all human. We get into ruts. We get into ways of thinking about things around us which keep us trapped in old, outmoded ways of thinking. It’s the ‘glass half full/glass half empty’ syndrome.
I believe that it’s not the events in your life that make you who/what you are, but it is the way you react and respond to these events which reveal your true character. I’ve been exploring this idea a lot lately, the idea that our emotions are choices. It was sort of a revelation to realize this, and quite freeing. I can choose whether or not to be angry, depressed, jealous, over the things I have no control over.
We can change our patterns simply by changing the language we use. I am choosing to be brave. I am choosing to be strong. I am choosing to let things go. . . And as we do this, we choose to realize we are not the things that happen around us.
When we readust our obstacles into opportunities, we attract more of what we want. It’s that simple. Isn’t it worth it to suspend cynicism? Isn’t it worth it to let go of the patterns that keep us stagnant? I should think so.
I wish I had learned this lesson earlier. This reframing of struggle into potential and exciting lessons is exactly the kind of thing that we as persuaders can learn from. Framing and reframing our lives and the lives of those around us is absolutely mandatory if we want to succeed in persuasion. Helping others to see that the glass is half full, helping others to see how our products and services will benefit them immeasurably in life, helping our loved ones, our teenagers, to realize that every day we make the choice to be unhappy, is a real revelation. Let’s make our choices consciously and use that consciousness for relentless optimism.