Do you really have any problems, or are they just an inconvenience?

Problem (noun): a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.

Inconvenience (noun): trouble or difficulty caused to one’s personal requirements or comfort.

(From oxforddictionaries.com)

The human race is notorious for magnifying what essentially is nothing more than an “inconvenience” and identifying it as a “problem”.

Classifying them as such allows us, many times subconsciously, to overdramatize a situation – creating undo stress for ourselves, while often driving those around us crazy with our obsessive worrying.

Here’s a prime example of what I’m talking about.

My wife and I recently decided it was time to start looking for a new home – and in doing so accept the burden that often comes along with such a life-changing decision.

It’s been 11 years since we purchased our first house, and much has changed since them – and even more has been forgotten about what is entailed in this oftentimes daunting process. Between coordinating the financial logistics and being disappointed with the homes we’ve toured thus far, the process has been more stressful than enjoyable.

Just the other night I found myself saying, “It’s going be a real problem finding the right house for us.”

I’m ashamed to admit it, but it’s not a problem at all – it’s just a little inconvenient. And when you really sit down and think about it, not so much that either.

Whenever something disrupts the normalcy in our lives, we automatically brand them as a problem. But for many of us, myself included, we really have no idea what it’s like to deal with the struggles so many other are faced with. The real “problems” in life.

Robert Fulghum once remarked, “If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.”

Truth be told, I’ll take all the inconveniences life wants to throw at me. While they might be annoying to deal with at times, they certainly aren’t enough of a “problem” to keep me awake at night.