The 7 Cups Values Series (Week 2/7): Grow Through the Path of Problems
Hello everyone, and welcome to part 2 of our 7-part 7 Cups Values Series!
Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts so far on our first value: Your Work Saves Lives!
This week, we are discussing something we all face: obstacles.
This week’s value is: Grow through the Path of Problems. At 7 Cups, this means facing problems head-on to develop continually and solving the critical ones along the way.
Nobody likes dealing with problems, but they are often our best teachers. When we work through challenges instead of avoiding them, we learn more about ourselves and our resilience.
Wisdom from our founder, GlenM:
We often have a plan for how life should go. Problems pop up and knock us off the path that we have set out for ourselves. What if our understanding of how we think life should unfold is not necessarily right or accurate? What if the problems that surface are the path that we are supposed to be on? What if each new problem we face enables us to learn a key new lesson that we'll need to solve the next problem we face?
The Stoics said the problem IS the path. Solving a problem is like taking a bottle of water out of a cooler in a 7-eleven. You solve the first problem and then another one slides down. We might not want to be the path that we are on, but the path we are on IS the path we are on and we get stronger through solving the problem that is immediately in front of us. And that is how we become stronger and more confident.
🫵🎤 Share a time when a roadblock, a mistake, or a difficult problem taught you something valuable or led to personal growth.
Recommended readings to learn more about this core value:
@Silvina88
Exactly! Mistakes are proof you're trying and figuring things out!
Growth hurts, but stagnation hurts more: <- I say this allll the time. It's so true!!!
@Heather225I have many road blocks that pop up, one of the big ones is finding and maintaining employment, I can only work part time also. I had tried many of the employment agencies and had no luck with them, it wasnt a problem with them at all, just that I needed special accomodations. I kept looking and reflecting on what would be suitable for me and what could I sacrifice without causing me to lose another job. I persisted and now I have a job that is perfectly suited to me and doesnt require any accomodations from my boss either. It took years to get this far and it was well worth it!
@Madking223
Woe, I'm so happy for you that you pushed on and didn't lose hope and kept trying. To see it pay off is very inspiring to me.
@Heather225 The huge obstacle I faced in my past was the people around me. They didn't let me study. Thanks god, it was the past. I still face challenges now, but I feel better than before.
@HealingwithMinionn
Glad you got away from people who weren't enabling your growth!
@Heather225 there have been a misconceptions in the market that frustrated me for days but i am happy it happened i learnt to be more careful ｡◕‿◕｡
@AReineRose
Unfortunate that these things have to happen in the first place but I'm glad to hear you learned to be more discerning <3
@Heather225
Hi H! 😊 ❤️
I really embrace our core values! 😊 ❤️ Thank you for this series!
When in doubt around here, on the platform, one can refer back to our core values. When doing so, sometimes the answers are right there, have been there all along.💫
Our core values certainly do translate to real life also. Nice guide posts for better living, how to see the world and how to frame things up when questioning ones self.
I really do love this too:
The Stoics said the problem IS the path. Solving a problem is like taking a bottle of water out of a cooler in a 7-eleven. You solve the first problem and then another one slides down.
It makes complete sense to me. It relates to the concept of that in life, we really are just exchanging one problem for another at times. Coming to the resolution that this is how the world can work is helpful to not feel so very defeated.
It can assist with being forward thinking, seeing the bigger picture and being mindful of choices as there are consequences to many things. Pick your poison kind of thing, lol 😊 Selecting the lesser evil of the two, which choice is more beneficial and easier to live with. Sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The grass....is simply grass in some instances and how one chooses to perceive it.
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@SparkyGizmo
Thank you for sharing these reflections. <3 I wholeheartedly agree that these values work as guideposts for real life as much as they do for the platform. It is so helpful to have that framework to return to when we start to question ourselves. And your point about perception is great. Thinking of the grass as simply grass removes that feeling of constant comparison and lets us focus on our own choices!
You really get 7 Cups, and it shows :)
@Heather225
❤️❤️❤️
@Heather225 being laid off after 18 years in my career opened the door of time for me to spend with my daughter and grands while she fights c*. Time spent with loved ones is so precious and I needed to see that more clearly.
@unapologeticallywell
I am so sorry to hear you got laid off but glad it gave you clarity and showed you something you'd been missing out on!
@Heather225
When I didn’t get into the grad school of my choice and all my other top choices I also did not get accepted at, I realized life can’t always be perfect and be exactly how I’d planned. I ended up getting into a really amazing school in the end and it’s very far away from my family and friends, but it taught me that maybe it’s better to go with the unexpected instead of trying to force your entire future for yourself. I had to accept that I needed to move on and not stay stuck in one place. My top choice was a safe choice because it was where I was comfortable and where I grew up, but I think I can grow from moving on and becoming independent.
@Heather225
I once had a role in a community church where I couldn't perform well due to differences with the members and that made the role heavier to carry. When I tried to evaluate everything, I thought that I was giving time beside my academic responsibilities and decided to prioritize the path that would help me move forward. What it taught me about myself was that I couldn't at all be willing to function in an environment that had high expectations but no warmth and tolerated a culture of gossip. I realized I didn't have to prove anything there, there is always someone more fit for a role, and I could only possibly be burnt out there and took a step back and I couldn't be happier that I did!
@Heather225
Actually my whole life is full of problems and obstacles and I m really trying to get over them but just as I m about to get a little over them another one hits and the cycle repeats
@Heather225 I smiled and said something playful to an interviewer when they said they could not understand me. I told them I’d slow my accent down haha.They meant it in a banter type way. And I just played along with it. That was the first time where I felt I’ve not apologised here for existing.