Problems As Teachers

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 our 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…

It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn… It is for this reason that wise people do not learn to dread, but actually welcome problems, and actually to welcome the pain of problems.

M. Scott Peck MD Cited in Meditations for The New Age 

Some people who almost reek with confidence declare to the world, “Bring It On!” as if there is no challenge, obstacle, or problem they cannot solve… Many more of us, I would suspect, are more hesitant, and even more timid in their assessment of their problem-solving abilities.

Depending on the day, the circumstance, or even my outlook on my life that day, I can easily range between those extremes of self-assurance; yet, I can always support Dr. Peck’s observation that problems are necessary for our lives, and for the life of our souls to progress and evolve.

When I was a student of Christian Science, there would be key phrases in the daily readings that would jump out at me, and connect easily with my psychological training, and my more metaphysical experiences and insights. 

One of them goes like this: “Life’s extremities are God’s opportunities”, or as Dr. Peck would frame it, problems are necessary to test our resolve and courage. They are given to us so that we can learn and then prove our personal/spiritual growth. 

Not that I can enthusiastically welcome every challenge that presents itself to me! My ego often wants to find a diversion or an escape from the responsibilities of acting on the challenge directly and effectively; but once I can calm any apprehension or fear, I can begin to steadily work through my doubts and uncertainties, and with faith and a desire to move beyond any pain or insecurity I feel. 

With a willingness to encounter, rather than a willfulness to ignore, I can see the inescapable reality; one that requires me to move through the problem courageously and creatively, so that I can confidently earn the wisdom, and depth that problem-solving can give me…