On a recent Community Call, we were talking about some of the challenges each of us were facing. As we discussed what was bothering us, someone said, “If I could just fix this one thing, I’d be all set.”

“Wow,” I said. “That is so true.”

I can so relate. Many times in my life, it felt like things were going well except for one thing. That one thing seemed to take so much of my attention. What about you?

Maybe it’s at work where you have one project that is causing so much trouble. Or perhaps you get along with most people except that one jerk.

What happens when that one thing gets resolved? If you are like me, a new and different ‘one more thing’ suddenly appears!

That’s because that ‘one thing’ is just a symbol. It’s a message to yourself that you have things to work on.

One of the ways to figure out what the symbol means to you is to look at the ‘one thing’ not for what it is, but examine the feelings you get when it bothers you.

For example, I once had a colleague at work who drove me crazy. It seemed they were the reason I was late on my projects. They were slow, and it irritated me to no end.

After a great deal of self-reflection, I realized the main feeling I had when I was around this person was impatience.

Eventually, I realized it wasn’t just progress on the projects, but I could finally see I was frustrated and impatient in many other areas of my life as well.

Once I recognized I was broadcasting this impatient energy, I was able to tone down my frustration with this person as well as those other areas.

In a matter of months, my colleague left the company. Not only did the symbol go away, but the whole energy of impatience went away too.

When it feels like you have’ one thing’ that is the source of your concerns, take a closer look at it. It might be the key to unlocking a special message for you.