How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 176

3.16 TURNING PROBLEMS INTO
OPPORTUNITIES
One of the most insidious, unproductive, icky ways we use time is
complaining about our problems—especially when we should be
thinking about them as new opportunities.
The Difference Between Problems and Opportunities
A problem is just a problem because we think of it that way. Stuff
happens. If we don’t like the stuff, we label it a problem and try to jam
the world back into the way it was going before. If we do like the stuff,
we label it an opportunity and try to take advantage of it. The difference
between a problem and an opportunity is what we do with it, not what
it is to begin with.
How to Turn Problems into Opportunities
Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. Write
“problems” in the left-hand column. Write “opportunities” in the &