The rational reaction to obstacles and setbacks

Good things do not necessarily happen to those who wait long enough. Did you ever tell yourself that someone, somewhere is going to recognize your talent? The effective truth is that, if your talents are underutilized, you'd better take action to promote them. It is up to you to improve your situation.

What doesn't work

Similarly, if after suffering some minor abuse or discrimination, you become enraged, should you not rather let go of irritation and make way for constructive action? Do you really believe that someone is going to come to fix the problem, and put an end to unfairness?

The truth is that everybody makes mistakes, and that it is seldom worth it to devote your time to correcting other people's faults. Put the unpleasant story out of your mind and move on. Apply your efforts to pursuing your goals, not to telling people off.

The effective approach

The best approach is to face the facts, and make workable plans: Put yourself in the shoes of someone who gets divorced in his mid-forties. For this man, it feels good to hang around his old friends and be comforted for the difficulties that he is encountering, but is this an effective behaviour?

Maybe they will introduce him to someone nice who will put his life back on track. Otherwise, he will just have to get used to loneliness, won't he? The truth is that he needs to make a workable plan to rebuild his life. Should he join a health club? Should he use on-line dating to meet a new romantic partner?
Another example: Imagine that you practise a beloved hobby that you would like to turn into a source of income. Unfortunately, everybody is telling you that you should not take risks at your age. You hear that your best chance of success is to stay put in your job until retirement age. 

Hesitation delays progress 

The effective truth is that it takes a long time to establish any sort of business. The sooner you start your entrepreneurial career, the better off you will be in the long term. Postponement does not reduce risk. A sensible approach would be to start up your business on the side, devoting your evenings and weekends to it.

In every case, hesitation delays progress. Do not allow wrong ideas to block your projects for years. Do not be contented with bromides that waste your life. Throw away misrepresentations and adopt an entrepreneurial attitude based on facts. Waiting for magical solutions only serves to keep you down. Only rational action solves problems.

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Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com

Image by teleachhe under Creative Commons Attribution License. See the license terms under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us