External solutions won't solve your internal problems

Recently, I’ve been reading a book titled The Inner Voice of Trading: Eliminate the Noise, and Profit from the Strategies That Are Right for You (amazon affiliate link). I saw the book in the book store and liked some of the things I saw in it so I bought it.

Whether you’re a trader/investor or have no interest in the market, this book has some interesting insights into ‘process’ and ‘solutions’. While the author is writing for traders, some of what he says can be applied to all areas of life. The one passage that really hit home for me was this one:

There are no external solutions to your internal problems.

Seems pretty basic…but think about it.

How many times have you noticed a problem, then immediately set out to find a solution via the internet and/or via asking your friends / family? Many times that approach has worked fine.

Its easy to find solutions for problems that have been solved before. But…not every problem is the same. And…not every problem is one that can be solved with ‘stuff’ or by someone else.

Sometimes…there are no ‘external’ solutions. Sometimes, the solutions to your problems lie within.

Oftentimes, you are the problem and the only way to solve your ‘problem’ is to look within yourself and work through whatever issues you need to work through.

But…the majority of the time, we don’t want to look at ourselves. We want to blame others. We want to find that ‘perfect’ solution that ‘must exist’.   We look high and low for the solution but never find it…because we fail to look inside and see that the solution is an internal one.

This happens all time in life and business.  How many times has your organization spent millions of dollars to solve a problem…only to see that problem remain (or get worse)?  Happens all the time.

Remember…there are no external solutions to your internal problems. Before going outside to find a solution, take a look at yourself (or your team / organization).  You might find a solution staring back at you.

Image Credit: Introspective By KaosBrutal (Retorn) on flickr