Little Problem, Big Problem?

When my oldest moved into the 3 year old room, the teachers started teaching the children about little problems and big problems.  It's a great concept and something that many of us can apply to real life.  It teaches the children to not report every little thing to the teachers and to know what things should be reported.  It helps them manage the little issues they may have between their friends, instead of making the teachers get involved.

It's crazy how things my 5 year old is learning in school can be useful for adults too.

When something surprising happens in life I often ask myself, is this a big problem or little problem?  

The girls are upstairs changing clothes multiple times on the weekend, throwing outfits on the floor:  Little problem or big problem?  Although I know this is a little problem, in my mind I'm thinking, "I'm going to have to put all those clothes away!"  

The laundry is piling up, C just dumped the Legos out for the 10th time, and the plates from breakfast are still on the dining room table.  All little problems but many times I don't realize it. 

There have been many instances where I get a little worked up about something and Justin will say "is this a little problem or a big problem?"  It's definitely a good perspective to think about life this way.  It forces you to take a break and look at the situation from a different view.  

Day in and day out, I feel like I am climbing up a mountain, trying to reach the top where everything is in order and completed.  Many days, I feel like I will never reach the top, other times I'm close but a set back pushes me back down the mountain. I'm thankful for campsites along the way that allow me to rest, regroup, and recover before making the push back up the mountain.  These campsites include exercising, reading, yoga, catching up with old friends.

My Little Yogi

I have always been a cup-half-empty type of girl and my husband often points that out to me.  Therefore, I feel like many things are big problems, when most things are really little problems.  I'm definitely working on changing my mindset and have been much better at realizing big problems are really that-BIG problems!

Hitting, biting, and bullying---Big problems

Out of milk---Big problem

A child going potty on the carpet?  ---REALLY big problem! 

Thankfully most of us don't have to experience too many of these in our every day lives.  So next time you feel yourself getting a little worked up about something, remember this little problem/big problem concept. It may just relieve you of some of your every day stress.    

TMNC!