From Problems to Solutions in Three Steps

imagesHave you ever struggled with a problem that you just couldn’t seem to solve no matter how much time you spent thinking about it? If so, you’re not alone.

When we have a particularly upsetting problem, most of us find ourselves coming back to it over and over again, fretting over what caused it, or how unfair it is, or how much worse it might get — trying to get to the bottom of it, but remaining stuck with the problem no matter how much attention we give to it. As it turns out, all that attention can be counterproductive. Focusing on a problem, especially an emotionally fraught one, can actually get in the way of solving it.
Our brains see problems as threats, and when our brains are faced with threats, they narrow our thinking to sharpen our attention. That can be useful when the threat is coming from a snake underfoot or an approaching wildfire. But the solutions to most problems of modern life are more nuanced than running away from snakes and fires. And narrow thinking is usually the opposite of what we need when we have a tough problem to solve.
What we need to do instead is to turn our attention away from the problem – and toward possible solution
Here’s how:

1. First, ask yourself this question.
If I woke up tomorrow and this problem was gone – if it was completely resolved — what would that look like? Spend a few moments imagining what the complete absence of the problem would look like in as much detail as you can. What would your days be like – in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening? How would you feel, what stresses would be eliminated, what pleasures would you pursue – in short, how would life would be different than it is now?

2. Next, turn your image into a story.
Staying with the image you just conjured up, create a narrative of what happened to get you from life as it is now to life as it is in your image. If you’re imagining yourself out of debt, how you did accomplish it? If you’re imagining yourself more healthy and fit, or in a better relationship with your spouse, what had to take place for those things to happen? Construct a story about what the road might look like from where you are now to where you want to be.

3. Now begin your journey down that road.
Choose one or two of the elements of your story that you can act on, and get started with those. Your vision of life free from the problem will serve as your goal, and your story of the journey will be your road map to achieving it. Once you begin to make progress, you’ll be able to develop an even clearer picture of both your goal and your road map, so stay open to the lessons your journey has to teach about where you want to go and how you choose to get there.
Struggles, loss, and sorrow are part of life, and not every problem can be solved — but most can be. It may not be easy, and it may not be fast. But if there is a problem weighing you down, chances are very good that you can find a way to resolve it if you start thinking not about where you are or how you got there, but about where you want to go.
GALTIME