💬 Let’s Reconnect and Support Each Other! 💬

I think the recent “Let’s reconnect and support each other topic” by Jim of the HW admin was a good idea.

One of the ideas to get the conversation going was “What’s something that’s been helpful for you recently? It could be a new habit, a book, a therapy tip, or even a small routine that’s made a difference.”

One of the reasons I like the idea is it gives me an excuse to repeat what has helped me recently and for the last over 30 years when I read about it in a newspaper column in 1993 of being positive when trying to solve a problem.

When I think of how my life was going prior to reading that column, I can hardly believe that I made it through those decades. The blunders, the anger, the making enemies, the refusal to accept even doctor’s advice. My attitude. It all got back to what I had learned as a child from my parents.

But my older brother and sister, raised by the same parents, seemed to be able to solve problems. Although they are still negative. But they didn’t have bipolar or leaning disabilities. I could solve other people’s problems but not my own, something inside me prevented that, and I would seek out other people’s minds to solve my problems, which often didn’t happen.

Then I read the column on being positive.

Recently I replied to someone on the anxiety and panic attack forum, by asking, what was their rating on being positive when trying to solve problems? Was it 10 for being positive when trying to solve problems, or as low as 1 for being negative?

So, this is open for discussion. The difficulty in front of us may not be the biggest part of the problem. Maybe our attitude about solving the problem is the biggest issue. And since it’s in our unconscious, we can’t see that. We’re operating in the dark.

Somebody who had a drug problem, I suggested, “One problem at a time and be positive about that problem.” I was simply repeating what was the general theme of the column I had read.

OK, so how has that recently helped me?

We had a storm and I got a neighbor to call on his cell (I wasn’t good with cells) to my son who I’ve had little contact with in the last year. Some stranger answered the phone. But it was the only number I had.

Later I asked a neighbor if he would call on his cell, Since he was so nice, I said, let me see if I wrote the number down right. Went in the house, had written it correctly, but with positive thinking, I thought, maybe I wrote the original number down wrong, let me go to my address book. I had written the number down wrong there.

Positive thinking got me through that. My neighbor called the new number on his cell and my son came over and fixed the problem and my son and I got back together because of the storm, and because I figured out a way to get in touch with him. And because of the nice neighbor.

So, how are your problem solving skills?