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Quotes about Problems

    “Noticing the problem does not change the problem. While of course, awareness is a critical first step, action is the absolute necessary step.”

    Apollo Poetry, Good Men Project

      “One of the strange laws of the contemplative life is that in it you do not sit down and solve problems: you bear with them until they somehow solve themselves. Or until life solves them for you.” ~ Thomas Merton

        “Love is a ladder.  It starts with one person, it ends with the totality.  Love is the beginning, God is the end.  To be afraid of love, to be afraid of the growing pains of love, is to remain enclosed in a dark cell.  Modern man is living in a dark cell.  It is narcissistic – narcissism is the greatest obsession of the modern mind.  And then there are problems, which are meaningless.  There are problems that are creative because they lead you to higher awareness.  There are problems that lead you nowhere; they simply keep you tethered, they simply keep you in your old mess.  Love creates problems.  You can avoid those problems by avoiding love – but those are very essential problems!  They have to be faced, encountered; they have to be lived and gone through and gone beyond.  And to go beyond, the way is through.  Love is the only real thing worth doing.  All else is secondary.  If it helps love, it is good.  All else is just a means, love is the end.  So whatsover the pain, go into love.” ~ Osho, Love, Freedom, Alonenss: The Koan of Relationships

          “The healing of the spirit has not been completed until openness to challenge becomes a way of life.” ~ Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

            “We cannot solve life’s problems except by solving them.  This statement may seem idiotically tautological or self-evident, yet it is seemingly beyond the comprehension of much of the human race.  This is because we must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it.  We cannot solve a problem by saying ‘It’s not my problem.’ We cannot solve a problem by hoping that someone else will solve it for us.  I can solve a problem only when I say ‘ This is my problem and it’s up to me to solve it.’  But many, so many, seek to avoid the pain of their problems by saying to themselves: ‘This problem was caused me by other people, or by social circumstances beyond my control, and therefore it is up to other people or society to solve this problem for me.  It is not really my personal problem.’  The extent to which people will go psychologically to avoid assuming responsibility for personal problems, while always sad, is sometimes almost ludicrous.” ~ Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

              “Problems do not go away.  They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit.” ~ Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

                “When we avoid the legitimate suffering that results from dealing with problems, we also avoid the growth that problems demand from us.  It is for this reason that in chronic mental illness we stop growing, we become stuck.  And without healing, the human spirit begins to shrivel.” ~ Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

                  “Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning.  Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure.  Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom.  It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.  When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems, just as in school we deliberately set problems for our children to solve.  It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.  As Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Those things that hurt, instruct.’  It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.” ~ Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

                    “You are at the source of being fat, sick, tired, broke, angry, depressed, and lonely.  Stop blaming your boss, family, neighbor, lover, government, society, or God.  You are the one at the scene of the crime every time something goes wrong in your life.  Stop looking for a fall guy, a scapegoat, or an innocent bystander to pin your problems on.  Until you take ownership for your life, you will always be chasing happiness.” ~ Sean Stephenson, Get Off Your “But”

                      “Probably the most pervasive false belief most of us harbor is the fallacy that only some superhuman act would have the power to turn our problems around. Nothing could be further from the truth. Life is cumulative. Whatever results we’re experiencing in our lives are the accumulation of a host of small decisions we’ve made as individuals, as a family, as a community, as a society, and as a species.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

                        “To this day, even when I hear about problems, as you’ve probably noticed, I tend to call them challenges. I don’t dwell on them, and I immediately focus on how I can convert the challenge into an opportunity.”

                        Tony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

                          “In life, never spend more than 10 percent of your time on the problem, and spend at least 90 percent of your time on the solution. Most important, don’t sweat the small stuff… and remember, it’s all small stuff!” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

                            “Our goal is not to ignore the problems of life, but to put ourselves in better mental and emotional states where we can not only come up with solutions, but act upon them.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within