Your Solutions To Problems Should Come From Purpose

Photo by Cadalpe

When you're faced with a problem, how do you deal with it?

Do you deal with it using your pride and ego? Being arrogant and impatient in your approach, thus using solutions that may solve the problem quickly but with a lot of negative implications?

Or do you deal with it passively? Letting others come up with the solution to your problems and have them solve it as well?

Or do you deal with it with purpose? Seeing the problem as an obstacle that you just need to overcome the right way to help you achieve your goals and dreams?

Similar to my previous post about Bro. Bo's teachings on our dreams coming from either pride or purpose, Bro. Bo mentions that our solutions also comes from pride, purpose and another called passivity.

Dealing with your problem using pride and ego often leads to catastrophic results. People who uses pride to solve their problems will always go for the quickest and surest way to solve a problem, without regard to the possible negative impact. Cutting in line because you're already late, parking in the slot reserved for disabled or senior citizens, killing someone who has done you and your friends wrongly, and so on.

These solutions usually make things worse.

Using passivity to deal with your problem often leads to inaction. People who are passive usually just wait for other people, the government or even God himself to solve his/her problem, which usually results in them not being able to solve the problem at all. Waiting for a company to offer you a job without even applying, waiting for the government to provide you with free food and shelter, waiting for God to stop the rain to prevent flooding, and so on.

Nothing usually happens here.

Solutions that comes from purpose is what Bro. Bo likes to call God-Solution. Purpose driven solutions doesn't focus on the problem at hand, it focuses on your purpose, dreams or goals. It see problems as challenges that will make you better and take you closer to your goals once you overcome them. The challenges you face in starting a business, overcoming financial struggles through proper financial education, forgiving someone who has done you wrong, and so on.

Solutions here are not necessarily quick and easy, but they are considered the right one because of their focus on the real purpose and not on the problem.

Focusing on the problem at hand won't really do you any good. Because it will only force you to do things that will solve or minimize the problem, even if it's not necessarily what you should be doing to accomplish your goals or dreams.

Like one of the problems I faced in failed attempt at starting a car wash. I was too focused on the problem of finding a good location and wanting things to be in order before I begin, that I lost sight of the real reason for starting the business in the first place. To provide convenient service and to make profits. My energy was spent on trying to solve the problem, hence, I didn't have enough to actually start the business and serve its purpose.

So if you're faced with a problem, don't use your pride or passivity in dealing with it. Instead focus on your purpose. The reason why you're doing what you're doing. So that you won't forget what's important and not focus too much of your time and energy in your problems

If You Have Big Dreams

Photo by Dave Williams

Do you have a big dream?

A dream so big that you'll have a hard time achieving it?

The most common problem people experience when they have big dreams is that their resources are smaller than their dreams.

You dream of travelling the world but your resource only allows you to travel around Luzon. You dream of living in a high rise luxurious condo but you can only afford a high ceiling bungalow. You dream of driving an SUV but your resources can only provide you with a Scooter. You dream of playing professional soccer abroad but you kick like you have no power.

Now there are two options that you can choose from when you have dreams bigger than your resources:

1. Lower your dreams to match your resources
2. Increase your resources to match your dreams

The conservative types would want the first option, just dream small so that it will be easier for you to achieve it. While the second option would be appealing to most people, increasing your resources so that you can achieve whatever dream you come up with.

I lean towards the second option as I believe it is the better choice among the two. However, it doesn't mean that we should just aim to always increase our resources to match our dream. On the contrary, there are certain dreams that needs adjusting that can match our resources.

How will we know which dream to adjust? Well Bro. Bo Sanchez offered a way to see which dreams your should adjust and which you need to increase your resources on. It can be found on where your dream is coming from.

Is your dream coming from pride? Do you dream of one day driving a sports car it will make you feel and look like a successful person, even if you are really not? Or do you dream of living in a big mansion, inside an exclusive village, just to show everyone that you're capable of affording it?

These are the type of dreams that you need to adjust to match your resources. Dreaming of something big just so you can boost your pride or ego won't really do you any good. You'd just be showing off, which could cause some people to hate or envy you. Pride driven dreams also don't have much fuel in them to keep you going, even through tough times. So if your dream is because of pride, you better adjust that dream to match your resources.

Is your dream coming from purpose? Do you dream of putting up a big business that will benefit a lot of people as it will provide jobs to hundreds and also a product and service that will make people's life better? Or do you dream of one day establishing a school, where it offers free education to street kids?

These are the type of dreams that you adjust your resources to match it. These are dreams that are given to you by God to serve a purpose for His people. These dreams provide a lot of good and benefit to a lot of people and not just you. Purpose driven dreams will also provide you with the fuel to keep on going even through tough times, because you know that this serves a great purpose bigger than you.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to have material things, but it's important that you check where this dream is coming from. Is it to serve a purpose? Or is t just to boost your pride and ego? If it is to serve a God's purpose, then you better adjust resources to match it. But if it is to serve only your ego, then adjust your dream to match your resources.

Dream big, but don't just dream to serve your ego, dream to serve others as well.