According to a Facebook quizz, I have a very female brain. I kind of knew that anyway but it’s always good to get confirmation from such a reliable source! Generally speaking, directions work best for me when they include landmarks, particularly shopping related buildings. What doesn’t work at all, is distance. The GPS telling me to turn in 500m has caused more havoc than it’s worth. Honestly, who knew 500m was so far!

On top of that, I am an absolute sucker for happy endings in movies and books. I don’t mind shedding a few tears on the way to the happy ending, it’s just really, really important that it all ends well.

Of course, when it comes to real life, things don’t always pan out quite so neatly. In fact, more often than not, we find ourselves dealing with anything from, ‘not-so-happy endings’, to downright horrible ones. So how can we cultivate a more peaceful acceptance of the harsher realities of life?

One of the first steps in the process of finding peace with the difficulties we face is clearly identifying the problem. We need a good diagnosis to find the right remedy for what ails us. Knowing fully what we are dealing with greatly enhances our ability to problem solve effectively. It’s a critical step that is all too easily overlooked.

For many people, doing something, anything, to fix a problem is easier than being stuck in the awful limbo of no man’s land. To alleviate the discomfort, we tend to jump into taking action. Unfortunately, without clearly understanding the underlying causes and dynamics of a situation, it’s easy to do more harm than good.

The truth is, our initial impression of our experiences are not always accurate or trustworthy. While getting moving may be motivating and reduce the fear of the unknown, it can also strain our financial and emotional resources and waste time that could be better spent elsewhere.

Once we clearly understand a situation we can begin the process of brainstorming options. What can I do now? What is the next step? How else can I approach this? The trick here is to come up with at least four to five options of what you could possibly do.

Now that you have a few ideas to work with, assessing each option for feasibility is a natural progression. Take into account the resources available to you, your emotional and physical strength and any financial implications of each option. Voila! You are now equipped to make a sound decision, one that is much more likely to bring with it a sense of inner peacefulness.