Putting out Life's 'Fires'

       There are times where we look upon our lives and find ourselves surrounded by problems. These problems take hold of us and manipulate us into thinking that there is no way out, that there are no answers that would put out this proverbial fire, but this is not the case.
       When faced with 'fires' in life, always remember to look at the problem from different angles and perspectives, "think outside the box" as they say, this really works. A huge problem within today's culture is our inability to think beyond the social norm, beyond what is expected or required of us, and this issue continually keeps us bogged down in a state of perpetual doom. So step 1 of dealing with 'fires' within your life that seem never-ending, "think outside the box".
       So now your question is "but Mario, how does one think outside the box? It's easy to say but impossible to do!", false, here is how it can be done. First, look into your own life and examine the 'fire' throughly, find the hidden details you might have overlooked and others that you made into a larger deal then they truly are and try to form a 'pure' understanding of the 'fire' before you.
       After doing this you will be ready for the second step, which is to go and ask for people's opinion on how to put out your 'fire'. Don't just ask one person, ask five to ten people and get different perspectives on the situation, this will help expand your way of thinking about the problem significantly. Then take all the advice and write them down, do a clean up of bad advice versus good advice and compile a list of ways to deal with this 'fire'.
       With this list in hand, now go online and research what other people that have gone though this 'fire' had to say about the experience, see their pain, their struggle, and their victory or defeat stories and learn from them. Never make the mistake of thinking that you are the only person that has ever gone through a 'fire', this is self-pity thought, and is dangerous.
       Soon you'll realize that the 'fire' you once though was enormous is not so big after all, and that you can not only put it out but restore any damage that it did with relative ease. So here is a potential list of dealing  with the 'fires' of life:
        1. Think outside the box
        2. Learn as much as you can about your 'fire'
        3. Remember you are not alone, so ask your friends and family for advice
        4. Never make the mistake of thinking that you are the first person to go through this 'fire'
        5. Go online and look for cases of people that have gone through your 'fire' and came out victorious
        6. Take the good advice and ignore the bad, remember that not everything you hear or read is good advice. 
        7. Follow your conclusion.

     Step 7 might seem silly, but this is one of the steps we fail the most in life at following through with. I cannot begin to count the amount of times where I've conversed with someone about a battle they were facing and had them look at me and say something like "I know that's how to solve this, but it's so hard, so I'm not even going to try".
     Here is another trusty saying to remember. Some of the people that have faced the 'fires' you are facing were weaker then you and they were able to end the battle. You don't have to be a super strong and powerful person to deal with the 'fires' of life, all you need is to be open minded and ready to do all you need to do in order to accomplish the task of putting out the 'fire' in front of you.
      So when you face difficulties this week, or this month, or in life in general, remember that you are not alone, that other people care enough to offer advice, and that you are stronger then you think you are. So go forth and put out those 'fires'.

          Love from your humble blogger,