Episode 8 · May 25, 2021

How to Focus on Solutions Instead of Your Problems

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Everyone hits seasons where the obstacles feel bigger than the answers. In this episode of The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III breaks down the fifth of his 12 prosperity pillars: "I focus on solutions." It is a deceptively simple idea with the power to change how you handle every challenge in your life and business.

The shift George teaches is not about pretending problems do not exist. It is about training your attention, reframing failure, and building the mental habits that move you from being stuck to being resourceful. Here is how to start focusing on solutions today.

Why your perception of a problem matters more than the problem

George argues that the problem itself is rarely what holds you back. What stops you is the meaning you attach to it. Two people can watch the same play at a football game: for one it is a thrilling moment, for the other a devastating one. The event is identical, but the perception is not.

It's not the problem itself generally that is going to create the solution. It's the meaning that you attach to the problem that usually is your obstacle.

When you step back and notice the story you are telling yourself about a situation, you regain control. That awareness determines whether your mind stays productive and creative or freezes up.

How to reframe failure as a stepping stone

Many entrepreneurs treat failure as something to avoid at all costs. George says that view gets it completely backward. Failure is simply another step that takes you closer to success.

When you begin to perceive failure as a stepping stone to success rather than an obstacle, then you won't be stopped.

Once you stop fearing failure, you stop hesitating. You keep creating, acting, and moving toward the life you want instead of waiting for conditions to feel safe.

Can problems actually be a good thing?

It sounds counterintuitive, but George makes the case that problems can be a gift when you view them differently. Without obstacles, trials, and circumstances to overcome, you would never grow into a stronger version of yourself.

He compares it to training at the gym. If you never lift heavy weights and never stress the muscles enough, they will not grow. It is the stress followed by recovery that takes you to the next level. Unsuccessful people want their problems to be smaller. Successful, driven people want to become bigger than their problems.

How to train your mind to find solutions

George points to neuroplasticity, the proven ability of your brain to form new pathways at any age. You are not your thoughts, your emotions, or the difficulty you are going through. Your mind is a tool you can train.

The neurons that fire together wire together. The more often, more quickly, and more consistently you choose to look for solutions instead of reacting to problems, the more that response becomes a hardwired pattern. One of George's mentors, Jason Brown, taught him to begin every situation from solution rather than from the problem, and it is a habit worth building.

Why focusing on your goals keeps you bigger than your obstacles

You interrupt old negative patterns by keeping your goals in front of you. When your dreams, affirmations, and desires are visible every day, on your mirror or your phone, they help you grow bigger than the obstacles as they appear.

Vision brings clarity and keeps you focused. Remind yourself that your goal is to be bigger than the obstacles in your life, and your strategy is to focus on solutions.

Action Steps

Notice the meaning you attach to a current problem, and ask whether that story is helping or holding you back.
Reframe a recent failure as a stepping stone, and name the lesson it pushed you toward.
Pick one obstacle you are facing right now and write down as many possible solutions as you can, aiming for 10 to 15.
Do not stop when you get stuck; keep writing to engage your reticular activating system and surface answers you missed.
Put a goal, affirmation, or dream somewhere you will see it daily to interrupt negative patterns.

The mind overwhelmed by obstacles is not the mind that creates solutions. Train your focus, reframe your setbacks, and let your goals pull you forward. It's never too late to start living the life you were meant to live, and it's never too late to start focusing on solutions this week.

READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT

Okay, welcome back to the Daily Mastermind, George Wright III with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. I hope you're off to a great week. Today, we are going to be talking about pillar number five of the 12 prosperity pillars. And the topic is, I focus on solutions. I focus on solutions. And I know many of us need some solutions to major problems that are happening in our life right now, so this is going to be a great topic. Zig Ziglar said, if you can dream it, you can achieve it. That's right. If you can dream it, you can achieve it, especially if you start focusing on solutions rather than the problem. So your perception is the first thing I want to talk to you about because your perception of problems in your life are really the key. Today is all about shifting of focus a little bit, and we need to start talking about your perception and the way that you look at situations, then I'm going to circle back around and talk a little bit more about how to create and focus on some solutions. So your perception of problems is really going to be a roadblock. It's a sticking factor in keeping you from creating the solutions you need to create. You need to become aware of that because it's not the problem itself generally that is going to create the solution. It's the meaning that you attach to the problem that usually is your obstacle, the meaning that you attach to the problem. So let's say you're at a football game. There's always two different teams playing, right? There's always two different perspectives going on. One play that happens on the field could be an unbelievable play for one person and a devastating play for another person. That's strictly because of the meaning that people attach to the specific situation. You know, if you're on the right side of that play, it's going to be a good play. And if you're on the wrong side, it's going to be not a good play. So what I suggest is that you step back for a moment and realize that the meaning you're attaching to situations are going to dictate what your mind is going to be doing and whether or not you're going to be productive and be able to create solutions or whether you're going to be stuck. And so that perception is a real big key. Another key is to be aware of your view of success versus failure You know as entrepreneurs and individuals trying to create more success in your life success versus failure is really an important topic for you to think about It relates to the article in the new e-book that my partner Robert came out with, because if you're constantly focused on success and failure is viewed as a bad thing for you, then you've got it 100% wrong. You need to realize that failure is just another way to take you closer to your success. And so how you view failure and success is super important. When you begin to perceive failure as a stepping stone to success rather than an obstacle, then you won't be stopped. You won't be held back from creating, acting, and moving towards your best life. And, you know, so here's a crazy thought. Can problems be a good thing? I mean, ask yourself that. Do problems, could they be a good thing? Problems can be a good thing if you view them differently. Now, you may be thinking, you know, George, how can problems be a good thing? Why would I want any more problems? Well, if we didn't have problems and we didn't have circumstances and we didn't have obstacles and trials, we'd never learn to overcome them. We'd never grow. We'd never get better. We'd never become a better version of ourselves. Let that sink in for a bit. It's kind of like working out at the gym. If you don't lift heavy weights, if you don't stress the muscles enough for them to grow. They won't grow. It's that stress and that recovery that's needed in order for you to go to the next level. And you know, unsuccessful people always want their problems to be smaller. And successful people, driven people, want to be bigger than their problems. So what do you want to be in relation to your problems? Do you want to get stronger and bigger than your problems, or do you want your problems to go away? You need to make the decision on what you feel there and how you look at things, because you start to look back, as Wayne Dyer says, on the tapestry of your life, your perception starts to change. We've all been there. You know, in a specific moment, a situation may be completely overwhelming, but as time goes by and you look back on that situation, generally you're going to find that you're able to grow, learn lessons, and develop in it, and you were able to get through it. So if we can identify that our perception will change or dictate how we view a problem that a key step in becoming more and more successful And you know I promise you with a fresh perspective you can start creating solutions So now let move on to how to create solutions One of my mentors told me that he always likes to start any conversation with a situation from solution. He says, I don't like to deal with the problem. I want to start from solutions. And I think that's a great habit to take up. You know, Jason Brown taught me that. And I tell you, I'm super grateful for it Because I know it's hard to find solutions a lot of times in the moment. I understand it's tough. You know, we all get overwhelmed and overcome with the difficulty that we're dealing with. But you need to realize something that's really important. You're not going to create solutions from a place of scarcity. And you're not your mind. You're not your thoughts. You're not the emotions and the difficulty you're going through. You have to learn to train your mind just like any other tool to help you deal with adversity and situations. And trust me, you can train your mind to be able to perceive things a different way and lead you to a solution. I mean, I've talked about it before, but I'm sure you've heard of the concept of neuroplasticity. Most people used to think that as you got older and you got habits established, that it was very difficult to change or create new habits. And actually, science has now proven that this concept of neuroplasticity is real, and that is that you have the ability to create new pathways in your brain. and they're just things you need to hardwire with repetition. So if you start to train your mind to stop reacting to problems and start being proactive and looking for solutions, the more often you do this and the more frequent you do this and the more quickly you do this, the more the habit will be ingrained as a pattern in your mind. I mean, you've probably heard me say before, the neurons that fire together wire together, and it really works. Trust me on this. You just have to train yourself to quicker and more frequently go to finding solutions rather than focusing on the problems. Another thing that I would recommend is to start focusing on your goals. See, you start the process of reprogramming your mind by finding ways to interrupt that old negative pattern that you fall into. And the number one way to do that is to just focus on your goals. because when you have a goal, a dream, affirmations, desires in front of you on a regular basis, I mean on your mirror on your mobile phone wherever it is as a problem comes up your dreams can help you become bigger than the obstacles in your life And vision definitely helps with clarity but it also helps with you to stay focused on increasing your perception and doing the things you want to do. Remind yourself, your goal is to be bigger than the obstacles in your life. Your strategy needs to be focusing on solutions. So just to kind of review, begin to look at how you perceive the problems and situations in your life and then start to focus on the solutions because, you know, the mind that's overcome with all the obstacles is not the mind that's going to help you create the solutions. It's a mind that is focused on solutions that'll take you far in life. So here's your strategy to implement today. Find something in your life that's an obstacle or a challenge. I want you to just kind of think about something you're dealing with right now and you just don't know which direction to go or what to do. And I want you to pull out a piece of paper, and I want you to write down as many possible solutions as you can think of for that problem. And don't stop when you get stuck. It might be overwhelming to find 10 or 15 possible solutions, but I'm telling you, the more you focus on finding answers and writing down answers to your problem and opportunities for your problem and solutions to your problem, the more your mind is going to start to work on it. the more that reticular activating system, that RAS in your brain, is going to start to help you find solutions. And you're going to find that the simplest things will come up with, you know, and come to the forefront of your mind. And you're going to think, man, why didn't I think of that already? It's because maybe you weren't focused on finding the solutions. Now, I know I've said this before, but I really do believe you have greatness inside of you. I want you to remember that it's never too late to start living the life you were meant to live. It's never too late to start focusing on solutions regardless of what's happened in the past. So start by focusing on solutions this week. That is a key prosperity pillar. It's number five of the 12 pillars. So that's my message for today. For those of you that are just joining us, I really appreciate you being here. Like and subscribe to the podcast. Do me a favor and refer this to somebody that you know it might help. And I look forward to getting feedback from you. Hit me up or DM me on the Daily Mastermind on Instagram or Facebook. and I will look forward to talking with you tomorrow. Have a great day.