It’s a nice problem to have…but it’s still a problem.

KLR note Nice problem

KLR note Nice problem Has this ever been said to you? When you tell someone about a problem you’re facing right now, something like….

…you’ve got too many prospects to follow up on, and they’re all good.

…your offices are getting too small, because you’ve been growing so fast and there are too many team members now.

…you’ve been asked to speak at too many events, and your diary is filling up so you can’t fit in the work you need to do.

And you’re struggling with it, and trying to figure out whether to say no to prospects or make them wait, and view new office premises, and decide whether to rent or buy… and you mention it to someone and they say: 

“Well that’s a nice problem to have!”

And then you feel…

Guilty.

Like you have nothing to complain about, because some people don’t have any prospects or any team members or even a business at all. Some people have huge VAT bills to pay or a family member in hospital and “they’d love to have your problem”.

Perhaps that’s true. Perhaps they would love to have your problem.

But they don’t.

You do.

And although it’s a “nice problem to have”…

..it’s still a problem. 

All I want to encourage you with today is, it’s totally okay to recognise it’s a problem. And to be a little frustrated or discouraged or exhausted or confused or worried.

That’s part of having a problem, whether it’s nice or nasty.

You can still choose to be grateful. You can be grateful for whatever you have that has contributed to this problem – a growing business, an efficient team, excellent clients, new opportunities – but that doesn’t mean you have to act as if your problem is nothing.

You still have to decide.

What to say to the prospects. Which events you’ll go to and which ones you won’t.

You still have to find the new premises – or make some other decision.

Otherwise things will get worse. The offices will get crazy crowded and people will be bumping into each other and getting annoyed and they won’t love their work and start arguing about whose desk is whose when…and that will be a very un-nice problem to have.

Your problem will go from a nice problem to a nasty problem.

And no one will be envious of it then.

So don’t worry if someone tells you that’s a nice problem to have. Agree with them. Say it is a nice problem, but it’s still a problem…and then use that as an opportunity to ask what they think, or what they would do, or if they’ve ever had a similar situation.

Share what you are grateful for.

And get on with getting your nice problem solved.

 

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ON THE GRAM

Popped into a fave local coffee shop in York this week and this was the mug they gave me. ❤️✨

Wasn’t feeling so superwomanny when I got it - this week was very full, plus period cramps and multiple migraines and my ankle being wonky and more travel than I’ve done in a while. I had intended to get coffee but the cramps were so bad I had to go for mint tea and just sit until they faded enough for me to walk again. 

At the same time, I also had an amazing time during this week with the @weare_pf Board meeting in person for the first time. Getting to know each other better as humans and sharing ideas and making plans and most of all appreciating that the weight of all the business decisions doesn’t rest solely on my shoulders. 

This is just one of your reminders that being a superwoman looks different at different times, and whether you’re striding along strongly or sitting weakly with mint tea, your superwoman status still applies. 

#justkeepgoing #superwoman #muglife #wegotthis #onedayatatime
Every single time I go sailing past this lighthouse on the mull-to-Oban ferry I think “this time I’ll just watch it and not take any pictures” 

And then something wild happens like A SAILBOAT GOES BY and of course I have to capture that, surely I haven’t taken that photo before (spoiler: I have), and then I have about seventeen lighthouse photos to add to my collection of seven thousand lighthouse photos from the last twenty years. 

But, I figure, what’s the harm anyway. It’s my photos and my memories and it brings me joy. I love the lighthouse as a visual of my journey from the mainland to the island (or a reminder I’ll be back soon). 

So, see you soon lighthouse. Thanks for standing there. 

#lismorelighthouse #eileanmusdile #lighthouse #lighthousesofinstagram #oban #ferry #calmac #isleofmull #sailaway #sailboat #scotland #travelscotland
I read. A lot. My list of “books to read” has over 100 titles listed, and every time I mention a book I’ve appreciated, I get another recommendation of a new one and the list gets longer. 

One of the books recommended to me years ago was “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”. She mentioned it had some helpful principles about how we navigate life - and whether you’re a buddhist or not, there are principles you can learn from and apply in life.

I wrote it down, forgot about it, and moved on with life. Read lots of other books.

And then when I broke my ankle, and was sitting and resting a LOT, with loads of time for reading, I went back to my list and started reconsidering some of the titles on it.

When I looked up “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”, the subtitle was “A Handbook for Happiness”, and that struck me.

Dealing with an injury is difficult. Sad. Wearying. It can be hard to find happiness and every day feels about the same. (Very Groundhog Day.)

So I bought the book, and put it by my bed. I started getting into a pattern of reading a chapter every morning with my coffee.

I thought I’d share some of the principles I appreciated and which are already helping me as I continue to navigate my life right now: 

[the full post on these is too long for an Insta post so click the link in bio or story if u want to read more!]

Thank the spoon - a spoon stirs up the mud in what had appeared to be clear water. Same with life: hard things stir up what you haven’t dealt with yet. So you thank them. “Thank you, spoon”

The Fundamental darkness (FD) - the “Survival Obsessed Self” who responds in a way based on survival but not growth

There’s a gift in the struggle - He describes it visually as “the lotus flower in the muddy pond”. You can focus on the mud, or on the flower, but they’re both there.

Nam - myo - ho - renge - kyo : The happiness soundtrack - I pulled out the core concepts of each of these words as they applied to me, and they are: 

Purpose
Mystery
Potential 
Bloom in the struggle
Flow of life

#karensnotes #buddhainmebuddhainyou #books #reading #happysaturday 

[full note link in bio!]
The snow is swirling the wind is howling IT’S FROZEN OUT THERE 
#snowing #happyspringeveryone #inlikealion