Random Solutions

A seemingly random solution to a problem is still a solution.

-- doug smith

 

Choose Your Story

 

Have you thought about how many stories you add to your life? We are so interested in understanding the meaning of everything that if we can't easily find the meaning we simply make it up. We tell stories to explain what we believe, even if what we believe has zero evidence or proof.

Ordinarily, that's annoying. When dealing with a problem, that's a disaster in motion.

Things we do to expand that story include ascribing motives to people we believe are responsible. They include interpreting words and actions as malicious, when maybe they were simply capricious. They include telling tales of woe and victimhood that do not lead to sensible solutions.

It's another problem within a problem. But we can choose.

Be careful about adding a story to a problem that only makes the problem worse.

You don't want to make the problem worse, do you? You want to solve it. If your story is not leading to a positive outcome, maybe just maybe the story is wrong.

-- doug smith

Worth Exploring

What if your problem was caused by a change you've been resisting?

It's worth exploring the possibility.

 -- doug smith

It Could Be You

Have you ever sat thru a meeting or event and wondered, "Who's in charge of this mess?"

Do you encounter broken processes that get in the way of success and that interfere with customer or team member happiness?

This can be a challenge, but it is also a choice: 

If you look around and wonder "who is in charge of fixing this mess?" it could be you. It probably is you. 

-- doug smith

Talk it thru...

Stuck? Is that problem persistent?

When problems ensue try talking them thru.

It might be exactly what you need.

-- doug smith

 

Skip the Fear

Fear of creativity keeps many problems from getting solved.

Skip the fear. Expand your creativity.

-- doug smith

 

Either Way

Fix the problem and then fix yourself, or fix yourself and then fix the problem. Centered problem solving works either way.

-- doug smith

 

Reciprocity

Helping someone else solve their problem can likely lead to you solving your own.

-- doug smith

 

Focus

Knowing what you want from a solution is the first step in getting it.

-- doug smith

 

Fixing

Fix the problem and then fix yourself, or fix yourself and then fix the problem. Centered problem solving works either way.

-- doug smith

 

Coming Around

Helping someone else solve their problem can likely lead to you solving one of your own.

-- doug smith

 

Knowledge Helps

Knowing what you want from a solution is the first step in getting it.

-- doug smith

Quick take

When problems ensue try talking them thru.

-- doug smith

Fear?

Difficult situations amplify fear. When we are uncertain of how to handle a situation, it can push our fear out into the open.

But, it is worth considering:

Problems are not the cause of fear. Problems can be the cure for fear.

Whatever brought the fear on, once you've solved the problem in front of you, that fear is likely to fade.

There are so many benefits to solving problems that we might as well keep solving them!

-- doug smith

 

Just a Nudge

What if that problem is really a process to a better result? 

Sure, it looks like a problem. It aggravates. It blocks. But what if there's a message underneath that we wouldn't otherwise discover, if it wasn't for the problem?

Maybe that message is: change this. Make this better. Set a better goal. Work to achieve it.

Even a poke can be a nudge that we need. That problem is just a nudge.

-- doug smith

Be Careful of Shortcuts

It may be tempting to side-step a value to try to solve a problem. We rationalize. We justify. We promise it's a temporary thing.

But busting values is NOT a temporary thing. A broken value does not easily heal. It leaves scars.  

A broken value leads to protracted problems.

Keep the value, find a better solution, and let's stay centered. 

-- doug smith

Multiples

Remember, the root cause of a problem might be in more than one garden.

Keep digging.

-- doug smith

In the Moment

Sometimes, random chance can provide the surprise you need to solve that problem. Something new is useful for you when you center on it in the moment.

-- doug smith

 

It's Still Us

Who's going to solve our problems? Where's the super hero to the rescue?

We all sometimes wish for someone to solve all of our problems. That someone is us.

-- doug smith

Complications

Be careful about making the solution more complicated than the problem.

-- doug smith