One of the most fascinating things I’ve ever read about, and I don’t remember where I read it, was how winners and losers behave differently when they encounter problems.  Losers usually think that their problems are happening for the very first time to anyone.

This really struck me. If you encounter a problem in your life, and you consciously or subconsciously assume that this is the first time this problem has ever happened to anyone, you’ve created a massive demoralization process for yourself. The so-called ‘truly unique’ and  ‘first-time’ problems (which none of your problems are) manifest as truly titanic challenges.

If you think that your very common problem is a unique, first-time experience, you’ve just made your very simple problem ten times harder to solve.

Winners are different. When successful people encounter problems, they remind themselves of the fact that other successful people, including business owners, athletes, millionaires, and billionaires, experience major problems and serious setbacks all the time. Literally… All The Time.

If you encounter a problem, failure, or setback, you simply need to remind yourself of the fact that millions of other people who have achieved far more success than you have also experienced exactly the same problem, perhaps many times. Then suddenly, your problem becomes ten times easier to solve.

By the way, your problem is not unique. Your problem has already been experienced, and conquered, by likely millions of other people. Whenever I consult or coach, very often, people will come to me with a problem they need help on, and the first thing that comes out of their mouths is, “I think I have a unique situation here…” Then they go on to describe an extremely common problem I’ve seen and heard about a hundred times before.

Your ego will always try to tell you that your problem is unique and unusual. That way, you have an excuse to accept your situation and get troubled by it. Successful people don’t think this way. Instead, they view all of their problems as very common things that millions of other people have already encountered and solved.

And they’re right.

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