No matter how prepared or organized you are, obstacles will always come along your way and force you to get out of your comfort zone and do something to solve them. When you face a challenge, the first thing you need to do is to stop and take a deep breath so you can think before you act. Below find the rest of the steps you need to take in order to overcome challenges at work.
- Define the real problem: The first thing you need to do is to define what the real problem is. Start with asking questions about the problem so that you can get to the root of it. Then, formulate the problem and explain it to your coworker to check whether you really understand it. Talking about the problem with someone else helps you understand it better and understanding the problem well is the first step of solving it.
- Divide the problem into smaller pieces: It is very hard to deal with one big problem but if you divide this problem into smaller pieces, you can easily deal with these small problems one by one. Usually big problems include smaller problems within. Therefore, try to identify what these small problems are and find their solutions first. You will see that as you tackle these small problems, you will gain your confidence and handle the big one as well.
- Get help from someone else: It is ok to ask for help when you get stuck and not sure what to do or how to move on. You can ask a coworker that you always work with or your supervisor. If you don’t want to get help from them or if you are an entrepreneur working by yourself, then, you can call a friend you trust and whom you think had a similar problem before to get advice from him/her. You will realize that you are not the only one facing problems and people around you too had similar challenges before.
- Every challenge helps you gain experience: Life without new challenges would be boring. Every new problem and challenge you face help you gain more experience and grow yourself. If you want to do great things, then you probably know that there will always be different problems you have to face along the way. Therefore, see this as part of your bigger dream and welcome new challenges.
Ceren Cubukcu is a top 5 bestselling author of Make Your American Dream A Reality: How to Find a Job as an International Student in the United States. She recently founded her consulting business to help more international students find jobs in the US in addition to her self-service digital event ticketing platform, Etkinlik Fabrikam (My Event Factory), to offer her webinars. You can follow her via Facebook or contact her via www.cerencubukcu.com/contact .
