self-helpless?

so, in the course of reading a motivational article on sparkpeople.com, i came across this tip for when you're feeling discouraged by your lack of progress:

"Activate your imagination with the Miracle Question.
The Miracle Question is a great way to help yourself focus on solutions. Imagine that tonight while you’re sleeping, a miracle is going to happen that will completely solve the problem you are struggling with, once and for all. How will you know, when you wake up, that the miracle has happened and the problem is solved? What will be different for you — how will you think, act, or feel differently once the problem has been solved? What will be different about the day ahead of you? Are these questions already helping you think or feel differently now, at least a little bit? How can you make this happen more often?"

this is a little bit silly.

my mom once said, "problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems." she wasn't being flippant, and she's not ignorant... but she's also not entirely right. still, i like the idea of imagining what life would be like without the problem. sometimes that motivates you to do what needs to be done, sometimes it helps you break up the big problem into its bite-sized, easier to tackle parts... and sometimes it makes you realize that you've misidentified the problem.

if i won the lottery (without playing?), i could pay off my student loans and other debt. and i could afford to just volunteer at cool places this year. but it wouldn't magically parachute me into a good law school. it would just make life easier once i got there by the sweat of my brow.

if i do get into a good law school, that won't magically make me in the physical shape i want to be.

if i got into shape, it wouldn't magically solve my financial problems.

it's helpful for me to realize that life is a little bit like playing whack-a-mole. there's always something new popping up. and laying in bed at night, hopeful that one particular problem will be resolved and anticipating the next opportunity to show creativity and integrity and grit... well that can help, too.