Mikko Laksola

question your problems, not your pain

If you find yourself going through difficult times and your mind getting stuck in a bad place, you can try to ask yourself two simple yet powerful questions. It helped me. Maybe it could help you, too.

OK, let's start.

What exactly is wrong in this very moment?

Really stop to think it through, as objectively as you can. Answer it properly. Take your time. Don't rush.

Then, the second question:

Are you in actual danger?

Is your problem directly causing or putting you at risk of actual harm, damage, or death?

Probably not.

Could it be, instead, that your problems are simply a result of the fact that reality, the world, or your life is not the way you want or hoped it would be at this very moment?

Things just aren't the way you want them to be, right now.

If so, your problem isn't real. It's not rooted in reality. If you stopped existing, so would the problem. It's like a dream, or perhaps like VR: It feels real, but isn't.

Now, let me be very clear with this last part because it's important.

This doesn't minimize or deny the pain you're experiencing in any way. Your pain is real. In fact, it's the only thing that is. So don't feel bad or small for feeling it. (But try not to fear it.)

Perhaps you're still thinking: OK, sounds cool, but what should I do with all this? What about my problem? What am I supposed to do with my problem?

If that's the case, I apologize for answering with a third question:

What do you do with problems you face in your dreams?

Question your problems, not your pain.