My boss told me to go to small business xo to look into what solutions would work for the store and when I told him about my findings he told me I didn’t do a thorough enough job. I was so mad at him – that interaction is so typical for us and it’s really created a hostile work environment for me to go into everyday.

I wish I could say I had a good working relationship with my boss but you know, I really just wish a lot of the time that I owned this place instead of him so that things could really run the way I know they’d run best. It’s like he doesn’t trust any of my advice and he’s so hands-on he’s really bad at delegating – sometimes I feel more in his way than I do helpful and that’s not a good feeling to have!

I like getting a paycheck but I don’t want to work here for much longer if I can help it. This working relationship is less than ideal.

One definition of success is money or possessions. Material wealth has always been used by society both as a measuring stick and a barrier. This condition persists to this day. In fact, some may argue that at no time in history has materiality been as important as in modern day America. Whether or not this is true is beside the point. What is true is that the cult of “things” is an ingrained way for we, as humans, to judge and ctagorize strangers and aquaintences. Even more, it is one of the main way we judge ourselves.

The problem with using wealth as a definition of success is that wealth is not always a true indicator. There a great many people who possess enough, and more than enough, physical possession but are morally or spiritually unsuccessful. One only needs to look at Orson Welles stellar performance as Charles Foster Kane, in the classic film “Citizen Kane”, to see a perfect example of this phenomenon.

Kane is a man who has every material thing he could desire. He is rich, He is powerful. He can, and does, make and break lives. Yet, at the moment of his death, what is the one thing he remembers? A simple wooden sled from his childhood. A sled that his parents gave him. A sled that represents the unconditional love that has always elluded him and which no amount of money could ever buy.

An interesting example there. Perhaps wealth is, at best, an innacurate indicator of true success. Perhaps, true success means something simultaneously much cheaper and much more precious.

Life’s problems and challenges can absolutely be overwhelming and frustrating at times. They can even be terrifying. But in the end, it’s your perception of the problem or challenge that will ultimately determine the outcome of the battle. When you have the underlying belief that the problem or challenge is bigger than life you start to feel powerless to defeat it.

One way to overcome this is to start out realizing that every problem has a solution. I know it doesn’t always seem that way when you’re feeling overwhelmed, but deep down you know it’s true. I’m not saying that you always recognize the solution right away but I am saying that once you overcome your fear and start thinking rationally you’ll inevitably see that a solution does exist. You may have to do some digging and you may have to have some patience, but it will reveal itself eventually.

Another helpful exercise is to start right out as seeing your problem as a temporary stumbling block. Don’t look at it as an immovable roadblock standing in your way. This helps to diminish the power it can have over you. It becomes an annoyance rather than something you fear you’ll never be able to handle.

And it might be time to take a deeper look at yourself. Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli said, “where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.” This should serve to remind you that only one thing can stand out as “great” in your mind at a time.

When you see yourself as strong, confident, competent (i.e. “great”) your problems will have to be viewed as small in comparison.

Start looking at yourself as the powerful force who can handle anything that comes your way. Don’t let your problems and challenges take a more powerful position in your thinking. This is what will ultimately determine the scope of your issues. When you believe your problems are overwhelming, they will be. When you look at them as simply situations that you must deal with, you’ll find that solutions come more easily.

Now, of course, I’m not saying that every problem you face will suddenly become insignificant! Undoubtedly you will still face crises in your life that will push you to the limits and cause you to still feel overwhelmed.

But when you find a problem so huge you must let it go. When you stop struggling with it and start accepting it for what is it, you might be surprised. By not spending all of your time obsessing about it and thereby giving it more power over you, you just might find that it sometimes resolves itself. Try remaining open to creative inspiration. You might stumble upon a solution that may not otherwise have revealed itself to you because of your constant worry and stress.

Don’t let yourself get carried away by the overwhelming feeling you get. Instead, look inward and believe that you are in control!

In this world of such huge diversity, what motivates me will probably not be what motivates you.  There might be a few shared common motivators but we all have our own unique “button” that, when pushed, is what motivates us.

In order to get and stay motivated you need to identify what your “buttons” or specific words of motivation are.  Then it will be easy to keep pushing those buttons and keep your motivation level high.

Start out by looking at your past experiences.  What simple things have you done that have made you feel motivated?  Maybe it’s reading a inspirational book about a favorite person that really gets  you fired up.  Or maybe you get your motivation by watching a favorite movie.  Or perhaps there’s someone whose accomplishments make you want to follow in their footsteps.

Finding the right words of motivation doesn’t necessarily have to come from positive, uplifting kind of things…do you tend to get INCREDIBLY motivated when money is tight and the bills start stacking up?  Is that what it takes to get  you up off your rear and motivated to do something?  There’s no doubt that money can be a great motivator for many of us!

But maybe your goal has nothing to do with money.  Maybe you aspire to make it your mission to accomplish something that will make a real difference in the world, in your community or, on a smaller scale, in your own family.

There can be great motivation in personal satisfaction.  There’s often a great emotional high that comes from doing something like going back to school to complete a degree or starting your own business.  Growing and developing yourself as a person can offer strong motivation.

There are endless examples, but the important thing is to find your own words of motivation.  Find that special thing that will catapult you into action and keep the momentum strong.  That one thing that will help keep you focused and filled with a sense of purpose no matter what challenges arise.

Remember, too, that motivation tends to go in cycles.  One day you might feel truly inspired after reading a particular book but other days you’ll find that you need to look for other forms of motivation.

If you take the time to look inside you will be able to find just the right source of motivation for you.  It may take experimenting with different things, books, music, spending time with friends.  There are endless possibilities to keep your motivation strong.  Find your own personal words of motivation and keep working toward your goals.

All the best,