How To Keep Your Cool – Dealing With First World Technical Problems

4 Suggestions on getting through your day without losing your cool – Whoever put the concept of first world problems into words deserves special recognition. First world problems, for those who don’t know, are petty irritants that can be blown way out of proportion because the ones who suffer from don’t have to worry about important problems like starvation, clean water and housing.

They have become running jokes on social media and in the news and are used to illustrate how out of touch modern, usually youth, society has become with developing cultures. They are funny, in part, because they have a basis in the truth.

IMAGE: PEXELS

The Joke Is On Us

Of course, many of the issues referred to as first world problems, although not as life threatening as genocide, are still problems. When you break the screen on your iPhone, for example, your world won’t end but your iPhone is still broken.

Not everyone can or even wants to fix the major problems that exist in the world today, but there is room for everyone. Fixing a computer doesn’t have the same glamor as solving world poverty, but there are a lot more people capable of doing it.

Keeping Your Problems From Becoming Disasters

Whether major or not, your problems are important to you. To keep them from getting out of control, try doing the following when fate seems to be conspiring against you:

Take a deep breath. The world isn’t ending and you will have a roof over your head and food in your stomach tonight. Putting the problem in perspective can make it easier for you to overcome it.
Consider the importance of the problem. Do you need to fix the problem right now? To continue the example, is your iPhone usable with the screen damaged? If so, put the repair on your to-do list and get on with your day.
Have resources available. Not to say that you should carry two cellphones, but be able to function – at least in the short-term – without access to your phone. If nothing else, being able to Google, ‘iPhone repair near me’ can mean the difference between a minor and major problem.
Fix the problem. Call the repair shop, buy a new phone or learn to live without one are all solutions to your problem. Pick one and do it.

Smartphone damage is one of many minor problems that can be fixed with the application of common sense. Getting worked up over these irritants is neither healthy nor conducive to being mistaken as a rational adult.

That’s What Being An Adult Is About

[pullquote]Realizing the difference between irritants and real problems is a hallmark of adulthood and translates well in the business world.[/pullquote] Managers and team leaders who are always blowing up over minor setbacks, allowing projects to fall behind and blaming others for these problems are the bane of business. Instead of focusing on getting past the issue and moving forward, they are happy to wallow in their misery- minor though it might be – and drag down the entire project.

Overcoming obstacles is the responsibility of everyone and if you are unable to do it in real life, what are the odds that you will be able to handle it in the workplace? Take a moment, think about it and then get on with your business.

That is, after all, the way an adult would handle it.

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