Addressing Problems in One's Life

A lot of people decided to shed their problems with the welcome of a New Year and new hope for the future. I saw so many posts on social media about releasing problems and leaving them in the past, shedding old skin and creating new identities and even leaving people, places and things in the past. As I scrolled on my phone throughout the holiday, I couldn't help but giggle every time I seen those posts because I could not help but wish for that same hopefulness. As 2015 approached, I could not allow myself to simply ignore the problems that had come in my life because I had not properly addressed them yet. Sometimes, we try to run away from things. We want so badly to be renewed and to start again that we bypass the lessons that we were supposed to learn from the happenings of the past. I chose to start my year off by NOT leaving my problems in the past, but by addressing them to benefit my future.

I've always been the kind of person to suppress things. Last semester I dealt with a lot of personal failures and I felt like I had exhausted myself time and time again. I was bombarded with life and obligations that after each situation, I had to suck it up and continue pushing forward. I had no time to understand what had happened or why I felt the way I felt. I would feel, suppress and move on. The problem with this is that it leaves no room for growth; it only makes your baggage heavy.

Taking the time to be alone and to think about our problems is something so many of us run away from. We are so terrified that looking life in the eye is going to turn us to stone. What people don’t realize is facing problems, dealing with the pain, addressing your issues head on and allowing yourself to analyze your emotions and placement within that situation are all things that lead us to lessons learned! Sure, it hurts to be alone when you are feeling lonely, or heartbroken, or when you feel like you've failed, but taking time to figure out what those things mean and how you can move forward is what is going to push you through. Lessons don’t come from running from problems, they come from addressing them.

So even though we are a few weeks into the New Year, I encourage you to celebrate this new start that you have but don’t let problems from last year go un-addressed. Just because the calendar has changed doesn't mean the lessons applicable to your life have. Welcome the lessons from your life with open arms and see how much you will grow when it’s all over.