You May Need to Do Something

No matter what anyone tells you, some problems can not be imagined away.

We'd like to believe that positive thinking can accomplish anything. Anything? I'm not so sure.

It's comforting to think that our beliefs matter more than the facts -- but have you ever pitted your beliefs against immutable facts and prevailed? That stove top will still burn your hand no matter how much you believe that it is harmless. That gathered army on your border could still invade you no matter how positive you think about your enemies.

I'm not against a metaphysical awareness -- far from it -- I just don't rely on metaphysics when physics is in control. 

Imagine all you want. Believe all you want. But, that problem you are facing probably will need some action if you want to solve it.

-- doug smith

 

It Takes Discipline

 

Have you ever solved a problem quickly, only to have the solution break on you?

Solving problems requires collaboration. Unless we cooperate with other people, and they with us, our solutions will rapidly unravel. 

We also need discipline. Old problem-sustaining habits must give way to new solution supporting actions. We need to be able to hold our center, breathe thru our perceptions and hold onto helpfulness.

Even if you reach a solution to a problem quickly, it takes discipline to make the solution stay.

-- doug smith

Consider Everyone Effected

Solving problems by hurting others is not solving problems.

Centered problem solvers consider everyone effected by the solutions.

-- doug smith

Ending Destruction

How do we end a destructive player's destruction without destroying the play is the key problem embedded in diplomacy, crime, and war.

Impossible to solve? Then we manage. Impossible to manage? Then it must be solved.

-- doug smith

Find the Flaw In Your Thinking

How does it feel like when your mind is foggy? For me, fogginess happens when there are an overwhelming number of choices, or possibilities, or the problem seems to cut so deep that only a tourniquet will help. Fogginess can also come from incomplete thinking - we stop at a place that makes sense to our unseen bias, and move forward without looking for other facts.

Flaws in our thinking develop when our thinking is misdirected (it was true about something else so it must be true about this), polluted (that advertisement is just SO convincing), corrupted (it might not be exactly right but it's good for me), and any of dozens of factors that fog our thoughts.

The flaw that blocks you knocks you off center. The flaw that deceives you leaves you without a real solution.

Find the flaw in your thinking while you can still find it, or the problem is yours to keep.

-- doug smith