The Art of Seeing Every Difficulty as an Opportunity

It’s all about the perspective.

I have encountered a countless number of people who are experts at listing excuses. Regardless of what the subject is, they always come up with a lengthy list of reasons why they can’t do something, even if it’s as simple as working out 15 minutes a day.

I need to point out there is a difference between excuses and valid reasons — for instance, you may not be able to work out due to health issues. However, it’s painfully apparent when a person is motivated to reach their potential and achieve a goal; and when they are most likely looking for an excuse.

One of the life lessons I devised a long time ago is as follows: you’re either seeing every difficulty as an opportunity, or you’re seeing every opportunity as a difficulty and start searching for excuses.

The Number of Examples Around Us is Frightening

If I had a dollar every time someone around me found a way to turn an opportunity into a difficulty, I would be a millionaire by now. Maybe I’m unlucky to be surrounded by such a crowd, that’s possible too. But if you look around and try to remember how often people you know look for excuses, it’s genuinely astonishing.

You’re either seeing every difficulty as an opportunity, or you’re seeing every opportunity as a difficulty and start searching for excuses.

Dating is a great example. We all know amazing couples who wasted no time building strong relationships, invested emotionally and spiritually into their unions, and found ways to be together despite all hardships. And we also know those who cough up excuses every chance they get.

Sadly, I’m acquainted with many people who have been in relationships for 5, 10, and even more years. Some of them perpetually look for every chance to tell you why they aren’t working on those relationships. They’ve been dating for 7 years, yet every time someone brings up moving in together, you hear about how expensive rent would be, how they are not financially stable or have student loans, or how the place is not big enough for two, or the new commute will be too long, or (insert another excuse here). The most heartbreaking part of this story is that their partner often complains about how tired they are to hear all the excuses.

Eventually, quite a few partnerships fall apart precisely because of the lack of motivation. You either look for ways to make it happen, or you don’t — it’s that simple.

It Is Easy to Look for Excuses

People can list excuses forever, regardless of the discussion topic. They find those constantly despite life throwing opportunities at them. Here are a few examples of such dialogues, with the excuses highlighted in bold:

You can find a new job and resolve your financial issues.
I don’t have enough skills!
You can learn them after work.
I don’t have time after work!
You can play online games for 3 hours instead of 4 and work on getting skills. Take an online course.
I don’t have the money for the online course!
Find a second job to pay for it.
I don’t know how to find another job!
Google it. Go to the hiring agencies. Look for odd jobs on Craigslist. Drive for Uber.
I don’t have a good enough car to drive for Uber!
Drive for Uber Eats; they don’t require a good car.
They won’t pay enough for the work I’ll do!

Such conversations can go on forever because it’s much easier to complain and come up with excuses than to put yourself out there, look for solutions, search for opportunities and change your life for the best, even if it’s a small change.

What You Should Say Instead

As opposed to looking at hardship as a problem, do your best to turn it into a solution. Flip it! Instead of seeing negatives, scramble to find positives. I prepared a table featuring a few examples of how to respond to a problem:

The number of excuses and negative responses one may think of is infinite. But we can also improve our lives by finding ways to reach our goals and turn plans into reality. It might be a time-consuming journey, but the results are worth it.

it’s much easier to complain and come up with excuses than to put yourself out there, look for solutions, search for opportunities and change your life for the best, even if it’s a small change.

Successful People Didn’t Get to Where They Are in Life by Fishing for Excuses.

One of the inspirations people whose advice I follow is Mark Cuban, my favorite “shark,” whom I started following thanks to the show “Shark Tank.” Here is the most valuable quote I heard from him:

“One thing we can all control is effort. Put in the time to become an expert in whatever you’re doing. It will give you an advantage because most people don’t do this” — Mark Cuban

If you’re putting the effort in or attempting to self-improve, you’re stagnant. You’re staying still and not changing anything in your life. Something as simple as decluttering your bedroom can change your life, as it may help you clear your mind and stay focused, and that will, in turn, inspire you to complete tasks and become productive. Don’t be stagnant — listen to Mark Cuban instead.

Surround Yourself with Inspiring People

A mistake I fixed relatively early in my life was minimizing communication with those who demotivated me, and surrounding myself with people who did the opposite. You can be friends with anyone you want, but if there is a presence of negative energy and constant flow of excuses, it can start affecting you. Instead of being around individuals who spend 2 hours listing reasons why they didn’t fix a 5-minute problem, search for folks who plan to resolve 5 problems today and end up resolving 10 of them instead.

Deleting people from your life is hard, especially if they are friends. But friends should have a positive impact on your life, not a negative one. If you feel like all the energy has been sucked out of you after every conversation — those are probably not the right people to let into your life. Close that door and barricade it.

Instead of being around individuals who spend 2 hours listing reasons why they didn’t fix a 5-minute problem, search for folks who plan to resolve 5 problems today and end up resolving 10 of them instead.

Time Is of the Essence to Learn this Skill

You probably won’t magically change your mindset out of the blue when you wake up tomorrow. It takes time to learn the art of switching from a negative excuse-flowing mindset to a positive opportunistic one. This is a process and a learning curve; it requires time. Nevertheless, there are a few tools that can help you get into that mindset faster.

Looking for a community of inspiring individuals like yourself. It can be a Facebook group, or an online career-driven community, or weekly coffee gatherings of people you found on a meet-up website. What connects you don’t necessarily need to be grand and major — maybe you need someone who would inspire you to learn cooking or how to grow vegetables at home.
Taking advantage of networking apps. Depending on where you live, you may have more than one available to you, and what they do is match people who have similar interests and goals. You can get matched with a person who is trying to advance their education, or with someone who needs inspiration and support balancing work and family. I found a helpful article reviewing 6 of networking applications — check them out, maybe one would work for you. I, personally, tried Shapr several years ago, and it was a positive experience.
Explore learning materials. The local library most definitely has a ton of books you can borrow. Check out the articles on the Internet as to what books might work for you, for example: 25 Best Self Improvement Books to Read No Matter How Old You Are.
Utilize free/low-fee courses that educational platforms like EdX have to offer. There are numerous classes you can enroll in online, which will teach you valuable skills. Here are a few examples: Success: Practical Thinking Skills and Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving.

You have the proper tools to adjust your mindset and start seeing every difficulty as an opportunity to potentially change your life. Don’t miss out on them and start today, no matter how insignificant that adjustment may seem.