I’m falling behind on my mortgage.

My fantasy football team has had a rotten year.

There’s a possum that’s taken up residence in my backyard.

My neighbor’s dog barks all night.

I had a winning ticket in the Powerball lottery, but I only won $21.80, while two other lucky people walked away with $35 million each.

I’ve bitten a fingernail till it bleeds.

When I try to go to sleep, I’m wide awake, and I wake up exhausted.

My kids talk back to me.

I’ve forgotten my PIN.

I don’t know how to change the clock on my oven.

I’ve taken on work commitments that I don’t feel comfortable with.

I've just lost my car keys . . . again.

Worst of all, I waste time making facetious lists detailing my supposed problems, instead of counting my blessings and getting on with my responsibilities.

We all do it; we focus on the bad and ignore the blessings. We obsess about the difficulties, without considering the fantastic possibilities that lie ahead. Instead of waking up every morning ready to fight the good fight, we hesitantly head off to war, already looking over our shoulders for an escape route.

In this week’s Torah portion, we read: ”When you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them, for the L‑rd, your G‑d is with you.”1 There is an obvious question here: why only one horse? Who goes to war with just one horse and chariot?

Rashi explains that it’s a question of perspective. When we look at the forces arrayed against us, we see an impregnable foe, more numerous than us, more determined to fight and fully equipped to conquer. Yet, from G‑d’s perspective, there’s nothing there. It’s as statistically insignificant as a single horse.

The Rebbe gives a further tweak to this life lesson. The words “a nation more numerous than you” can literally be translated as “a numerous nation from you.” We are our own worst enemies. We go looking for problems, and that's why our troubles are so tough to deal with. Instead of looking at life as an opportunity, we play up the pitfalls. We pay undue attention to the inconveniences and momentary difficulties, and we don't admit that most of our problems are easily solvable.

If we stopped looking for problems, we could start working towards the solutions. Given half a chance and a modicum of self-confidence, we could easily win the battle. The host of enemies that we thought were attacking us were really just as insignificant as a single horse and, with G‑d's help, we will overcome.