Do you like pepper? Me, I love pepper! Especially when I make my favorite spaghetti. Aside from the health benefits pepper provides, what I also like about it is that it constantly reminds me that problems are actually beneficial.
You might be asking, really? How is that so?
I'm not sure if you know the story of the search for pepper. From the what I learned from Roger Oech, from the Middle Ages on, pepper was the most important spice traded between Europe and the Far East. No form of preservation other than salting was generally employed and no other spice aside from pepper make heavily salted meat edible. Food before in Europe is bland and that is the reason why there was a demand for pepper. Thus, it was salt and pepper that stood between meat eating Europeans and starvation.
If we will go back in our history, it was around 1470 that the Turks began disrupting the overland trade routes east from the Mediterranean which caused pepper prices to skyrocket. As a result of this, European explorers sailed west and south in search of alternative passages to the Orient. As historian Henry Hobson put it, "The Americas were discovered as a by-product in the search for pepper". In fact, as far as I could remember in my Asian History class in college, the search for the spices (which includes pepper) led as well to the discovery of Asian countries by the Europeans.
Most people don't like problems. Who would want to have problems? Who wants to experience roadblocks, conflicts and impediments? Of course if you ask people, they would definitely tell you, they don't one problems. I, for one don't like problems. It gives me sleepless nights, stops me from eating, distrupts my routine. In short, problems takes away our peace of mind. It's no wonder we don't like it because it gets away with what we are trying to accomplish.
However, in my years being in business, I learned and appreciated problems. One thing I've seen that probably most of people won't agree with is that, I realized problems can be beneficial. I'm not saying this for the sake of making you feel good because the fact is, we don't feel good when we have a problem especially if it is up in our face. However, in all the problems I have encountered, although it has given me headaches etc., it turned out to be a blessing after all. Yes, it can distrupt our mental patters however, it forces us to think and re-think what we are doing.
Along the way of solving my problems, I learned not to get stuck with it and try to find an alternative solution. Along my search for finding an alternative solution to get me to what I want to accomplish, (just like how the Americas and Asia was discovered in search for pepper), I discovered a lot about myself and found alternative solutions to what I was dealing with. In the end, I was still able to solve it and at the same time got more from from it.
Looking back, all my problems, turned out to be beneficial. Not just we become great in handling it, at the same time we become more prepared in mindset and attitude when another problem or obstacle distrupts our routine. So, the most important thing first and foremost is to also accept that problems (obstacles, roadblocks, conflicts and impediments) is part of life. Just always remember that if you don't take away your focus in accomplishing whatever it is you want to accomplish, you will never be stopped by any problem at all and will do your best to find ways in going over any obstacles along the way.
It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe~Muhammad Ali
