Each of us has our own share of challenges that we encounter as we live our lives. Some of them can be willingly combated yet some tend to overwhelm us.

Many of the challenges are often only distractions and not as large or insurmountable as we believe. I am no different and like so many others have many ‘imaginary’ ghosts that I constantly battle. My friend and mentor Ram shared a story with me which put in perspective the ability to cope with some of the challenges that I face.

In the Tamil film Server Sundaram, Nagesh, the actor in question, explains how he recognises and copes with a problem. When a pebble or stone is held close to the eye, it masks one’s vision and forces one to keep looking at it. This consumes our mind-space just as problems or challenges do, if continuously viewed as insurmountable.

Yet, when the pebble or stone is moved further and further away, its size in our vision diminishes and much more of what is in the background becomes visible. At some point, we realise that there is so much else happening, much that can give us joy, and the problem itself does not have to constantly distract us. In the film, when Nagesh distances the pebble or stone, from viewing it closely, he realises that it is only a pebble and throws it away saying ‘what a silly thing to be preoccupied with!’

The enabling thought in this metaphor is to therefore distance the problem or challenge and see it from afar, thus helping us recognise that what we are experiencing is perhaps not as daunting as we tend to believe.

In Neuro Linguistic Programming, a technique that is now popular, practitioners always recommend that we consciously distance ourselves from the problem and in doing so, recognise its insignificance in our life.

The writer is an organisational and behavioural consultant. He can be contacted at ttsrinath@gmail.com