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6 Effective problem solving tools
By John DeVries | March 31, 2008
Considering the tagline for this blog: “Useful ways to solve problems, love people and live better”, I suppose I sort of take for granted that some of you are here, at least in part, because you have problems that need solving. More specifically, I have been operating under the assumption that you don’t already have the resources, answers or solutions to all of your problems. If you did, then many of you probably wouldn’t be here.
However, this poses a very real dilemma for me. In truth, I don’t have very many answers or solutions to very many of life’s problems! Though I hope what I write is helpful, it occurred to me this week that ultimately you, that’s right YOU, are in the best position to come up with a solution to whatever problem you might have.
Every time I solve a problem of my own I make a habit of posting what the solution was on my blog. I figure if something worked for me, I had better share it with others so they needn’t work as hard as I did to devise a solution. Actually, it wouldn’t be too over presumptuous to say that a very large portion of self-help and personal development literature is aimed at doing, in part, exactly that: Presenting solutions to people’s problems.
It seems a bit arrogant to me though. Honestly, to suggest that my advice, or the advice of any other self-help guru (I’m not a guru) is good enough, specific enough, applicable enough, and truthful enough to fit and resolve your exact situation is definitely not always the the case.
At the end of the day, you’re the one who knows what’s best for you. All I or any other person who offers advice has to give you are tools. That’s it.
In light of that new insight, here are some problem solving tools I use on a regular basis.
Problem solving tool numero uno! - You
How often do we rack our brains for a solution to a difficult life problem, only to realize later that the solution was there all along. The truth is that much of the time we don’t need a solution to a problem we have, we simply necessitate the courage to implement the solution we already know we should be implementing. If this describes you in any way, you’re not alone. I’m starting a club.
I can’t even recall the number of times I had a serious problem that was weighing on me day and night, knowing deep down what it was I really should do, but not being able to do it. It’s called ambivalence, it’s extremely common.
Usually what I would do in that situation is search the internet, read books and talk to friends about it in hopes that they would come up with a solution that was easier. Let me tell you, this rarely works.
Sometimes it’s not a new solution or idea that you need; you may simply need some courage, self-discipline and/or motivation. If that’s you, stop looking for solutions. Maybe you know right now that you have a perfect solution. But, you just don’t want to do it. Perhaps you’re scared, tired, anxious, feeling guilty, etc… Stop looking for a new solution and start looking for a way to do the thing you know inside that you need to do.
I went through this a number of times in relationships. I knew more than once that I was in an unhealthy romantic relationship that wasn’t working, but I just couldn’t bring myself to end it. Ironically, these problems tend to take care of themselves if you wait long enough. In the words of Steve Pavlina, and I’m paraphrasing, “Eventually life will force the truth upon you.” I could have simply faced the truth myself, then come up with a way to solve the problem. Instead, I eroded my conscience, my relationships with those girls, my self-esteem and my level of awareness, all in the name of procrastination. And ultimately, those relationships all degraded over time and then ended (sometimes in less than optimal circumstances). Don’t be like me.
You have the solution.
Stop looking for a new one. Figure out a way to develop the strength to implement it. That’s your solution; you’re your solution.
Problem solving tool #2 - Books
If you honestly have no idea what to do, read a book. The number of smart living and dead people who have written about themselves, their lives, and their problems is unfathomable. You could be benefiting from their existence by reading about them. This doesn’t mean that your exact problem and answer will be in a book somewhere, though that does happen to me often, but it does give you resources you couldn’t tap before.
Once you spend a lot of time reading you’ll start to make a lot of new knowledge connections. Over time you’ll find that solving problems becomes much easier because you simply have more mental links. You’ll quickly find answers to problems that once would have seemed impossible to handle.
Problem solving tool #3 - The Internet
They say you can find anything on the internet, that’s probably almost true. It’s all out there, but finding what you’re looking for can be tricky. Also, you have to be careful when you’re looking for solutions on the net. The reality is that any bozo like me can start a blog and start writing stuff. Honestly, I am very careful about what I write, I read a lot, study a lot, and I spend many hours writing each article, editing it and making it as true to myself and my own experiences as possible. Still, at the end of the day every single word on this website is simply my opinion and/or the collective opinions of other writers. You have to be the one to discern what’s true and what isn’t. You have to decide who is full of fubar and who can help you.
I do, and have always maintained that you should take from my blog what you feel is useful to you and disregard the rest. This is not a source of ultimate truth and I most certainly wouldn’t want you to view it that way. At the end of the day, I or any other blogger might just be full of it. When you read on the net, consider the source. When you read my blog, consider that I’m a mostly ignorant, 24 year old male. And I fully admit that my opinion probably, at least in part, is skewed by my past, my gender, my ego, my ideologies, and who freaking knows what else.
Read the internet with skepticism. Not everyone is trying to help you; I am (even if you haven’t found me very helpful, which is fine).
Problem solving tool #4 - PROBE
I can’t believe I’m writing about this. In my high school we had this poster in a hallway with the “PROBE” problem solving method on it. I can’t tell you the number of times I made fun of it. And now, 6 years later I’m blogging about it. Gheez.
Here are the steps.
Identify the Problem
Research a solution
Organize a plan
Bring together resources
Execute
I’m not sure if that’s exactly right, I didn’t actually think that thing was worth remembering. But it makes the point well enough.
Sometimes we never bother identifying what the actual problem is before we go about trying to answer it. And though this method is purely logic based, sometimes a little logic doesn’t hurt. But when logic fails you, as it sometimes will, try tool #5.
Problem solving tool #5 - Intuition
Yup, that little voice inside that always seems to know what’s best. However, I’ve found it is often difficult to distinguish between an emotion I have about something and my gut instinct (my intuition). The best method I’ve devised so far to help differentiate between the two is this.
Emotions generally follow individual thoughts or thought patterns. If you’re thinking about something and then you feel a certain way, that generally indicates that you are experiencing an emotion. Even if you weren’t thinking about it right at that moment, if you’ve been mulling over it in your head emotions will probably surface.
Conversely, if a “feeling” or instinct rises up in you to do something at random, without an initial thought that propelled it, this is often your intuition. Though I don’t recommend making all your decisions purely on intuition, it can be extremely valuable.
Recently this happened when I was searching for a new career direction. I was feeling very confused and uncertain about what I wanted to do next. I presented the question to my self: “What job would allow me to better express my strengths, passions and life message to people?” Immediately, “personal trainer” popped into my head. This was not an interest of mine. I like working out and I do it very regularily. But I never considered this path and I didn’t consider myself to be in the kind of shape I felt I would need to be in to guide others. But, to make a long story short I decided to risk relying 100% on my intuition with that one. I dropped a significant sum on a trainer for myself and I started asking around about the field. So far, those two actions have felt GREAT. Getting a trainer was one of the best decions I’ve made in my entire life and I have the feeling I would really enjoy being one.
Problem solving tool #6 - Acceptance
Have you ever considered that maybe you don’t actually have a problem? Perhaps you’re simply resisting reality (what is). I am so guilty of this. But, I’ve found that when you begin to observe and accept both what’s inside (your thoughts and feelings) and what’s outside (your circumstances), there are really very few, if any, problems.
In truth, most problems are projections of our minds. By comparing the present moment to the past, the future, and what we think we want, we create resistance towards what is real right now in this moment. As you do this, you start to view your current circumstances are “problems”. You don’t have to do this. If you accept everything you’re experiencing and, as Albert from Urbanmonk.net puts it, “Relax into” your emotions and thoughts, you’ll soon find a whole new level of peace. Accept what you’re thinking, feeling, and experiencing utterly and completely. Maintain as much constant attention to the present moment and what is occurring inside you as you can. A few days or weeks later you will begin to notice some major changes in how you feel about your, “problems”.
Read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Summary
I hope some of the tools above will be useful to you. Again, let me reiterate that the words above and everything on my website is purely and unapologetically presented as my opinion. Take what you can use, discard the rest. Love people, live better and go out there and solve some problems!
Topics: General, Learning, Self-Improvement, Solve problems |
April 1st, 2008 at 6:35 am
You have really in-depth articles that really analyse everything extremely well. I enjoyed this post a lot, and learnt quite a fair bit from it. Thank you for writing this, and for the link as well.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Albert,
Thank you! You have no idea what that means to me.
I’m quite embarrassed that it took me so long to moderate your comment. Things have been very slow here for the last month as a result of some internal changes that have taken place.
I can’t send enough “link love” your way. I just love your blog.