I manage my own websites, including this one. That means I do the upgrades, the maintenance, and handle the technical issues.

I’m sure that a productivity expert or a time management consultant would tell me how foolish I am to take on this task instead of delegating it, and I would not disagree. (If you are WordPress expert looking to receive a desperate e-mail from me from time to time, let me know.)

Invariably, things go wrong with my websites and something went haywire last evening. My pages were not displaying correctly and it was driving me crazy.

Nothing I tried resolved the issue and I quickly got myself in a lather. Bad words came out of my mouth and my sharp tone sent my pets scurrying from my office.

I wanted this damn thing fixed! Now!!! I wanted to get on with my life! To get out of the office! To go relax, read, watch the ballgame… Why do I have to deal with this stupid stuff…? It SHOULD work, dammit!!

My dark thoughts attracted more dark thoughts. I felt frustrated, angry,  and resentful.

Each action I took from this low-level feeling place was only digging my hole deeper. After an hour of torturing myself, I had reached my threshold and shut down my computer for the night. I left my office and within a few minutes, I was able to leave my problem and my funky energy behind.

This morning, when I sat down at my computer, the same issue was waiting for me, of course. But I did not have the same negative thoughts weighing me down. In fact, in my time away from the problem, I had a new thought as to what the solution might be. Just popped into my head.

And within 5 minutes, the issue that I sank an hour into the night before was solved.

My point is this…

We all have problems that need solving. Life is full of ’em… big ones like money and relationships to little ones like websites and leaky faucets.

If you do not resonate with finding a solution to your problem, the solution will continue to elude you. More specifically, when you take action on a problem, you want to do so from the feeling-state of how it would feel to have the problem resolved. For example, if having more money in your bank account would feel like a relief to you, then it’s your job to connect to that feeling of relief  BEFORE opening your bills, making payments, or any actions having to do with money.

Today, when you are in the midst of dealing with an issue in your life, take a moment. Take a breath and allow yourself to quiet your mind. Notice how you feel.

If you feel calm, centered, and expect to find the solution, proceed.

However, if you feel anxious, angry, fearful or the like, call a time out. Give yourself permission to disengage, to quit while you are behind.

The solution to any problem you have is right next to you. It’s your responsibility to connect to the feeling state where you will allow the solution to reveal itself to you. I’m not saying this is always easy. But I am saying that this is what’s required to change things.

But to my mind, if the alternative is banging your head against the wall on an issue for a lifetime, it’s certainly worth experimenting with, right?