Thinking

Problem Solving Secrets

By Dr.L.Michael Hall and Shawn Dwyer

Many people think that the art of solving problems means being creative or intelligent or lucky. Actually and amazingly, it is none of these. So what is it? Experts in problem-solving are effective because they know how to ask critical questions. They know how to cut through all of the noise and mess that comes with problems and which can distract and/or overwhelm us.

The secret of effective problem-solving is not being ingenious enough to invent some new solution. It is not even that! The secret is rather in the art of questioning. For instance, with any and every problem, the first critical question should be, “Has anyone on Planet Earth ever had a problem like this before and, if so, did they solved it?” If so, you don’t need to create an entirely new solution. Isn’t that great? You just need to find out what has already proven effective.  After all, why spend the time, energy, and money to reinvent a solution which is already available?

The Next Critical Question

Is the problem an internal problem or an external problem?  Asking this question distinguishes personal problems from impersonal problems. External problems are impersonal because they are functions of physics, gravity, chemistry, forces, mechanics, processes, tools, etc.  Here know-how and the right tools are key. Additional external factors also play into the solution: time, personnel, money, purpose, etc. Here also the bigger the external problem (which is a condition or situation in the world), it will require more people to solve it.  That means the solution will be a collaborative effort of a group, organisation, industry, government, etc.

If it is an Internal Problem (and therefore personal)

It is a function of meaning—of ideas, concepts, beliefs, understandings, etc. And whereas the concept of causation works perfectly well with external conditions and situations, the idea of ‘cause’ on the inside is entirely psychological. It is about how one is thinking, remembering, imagining, believing, etc. That requires an entirely different skill-set.

An External Problem

by definition, is something that is “thrown in your path” that blocks and interferes (Greek: pro-blemo, to throw). It could be a faulty mechanism, the wrong timing, mis-coordination, lack of a key resource, lack of political will—all sorts of interferences. Solving the problem then focuses on addressing the blockage and resolving it. That’s why know-how as good thinking is central to external problems.

For internal problems, the thing that blocks and interferes is some kind of an inadequate thinking —a belief, memory, rule, perception, way of thinking, etc. The block lies in the person’s mind. Perhaps the person doesn’t have the know-how, or a good strategy for being resilient, persistent, assertive, competent, etc. Perhaps the person has limiting beliefs which block him. Perhaps she has limiting decisions, understandings, etc. Solving personal problems focuses on changing the thinking that’s creating the problem. It means framing or reframing things in a different way to get a better perspective and attitude.

Psycho-logical

Now because internal problems are psychological, we can say that they are psycho-logical (this follows what Korzybski introduced in Science and Sanity).  That is, ‘logical’ to the way the person’s mind (psyche) thinks about something.

Take criticism as an example. How do you think about someone criticising you? In your thinking, do you personalise the criticism? Do you awfulise it? Do you think, “This will forever cast a dark shadow on my future?” Your thinking here describes your psycho-logics—your internal way of constructing meaning, and as you so think, so you feel, perceive, and act. This describes how you internally ‘cause’ or create your psychological reality. It’s how you construct your problems.

Awareness is Curative

And, knowing this is the secret to managing it! It’s with awareness of how you construct your meanings that you can stop one constructing process and begin constructing another. It’s in your power to do that. And the more you do this, the greater grows your capacity for creating your internal psycho-logics so they serve you well. Problems are created inside–out and problems are solved inside–out. That’s why in the problem-solving process, we do the meta probe with ourselves and others. That is, we have to go inside the mind. That’s where the problem was generated in the first place, that is where it will finally be resolved.

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