Everyone faces problems that seem impossible to solve. Issues are so intertwined that even understanding them feels overwhelming. Many times, people think: “If I can solve this, there will be no problem left in the world that I cannot solve.” Yet a large number of problems can indeed be resolved, if approached correctly.
A useful approach includes:
- First, be sure you truly want to solve the problem.
- Do not see the problem only through the eyes of the person explaining it to you.
- Simplify it as much as possible.
- Break it into smaller parts.
- Work on one part each day.
Rarely is “the problem” exactly what it seems at first.
Be sure you want to solve it.
When a problem is described to you, you start asking questions. You may immediately sense some key issues, but you are new to the topic. You do not yet know what is feasible and what is not. Ideally, you want to help the person discover their own solution. But sometimes the person will systematically reject every suggestion, explaining why each one is impossible. The mood becomes tense and you eventually conclude that the problem is unsolvable. The other party relaxes because their underlying goal was to prove exactly that.
Whoever is presenting the problem has, by definition, not solved it so far. If they also have a strong ego, they may feel uncomfortable with the idea that you could find a solution they could not. Deep down, they may not want a solution at all, but rather confirmation that the situation is hopeless.
Here you must decide whether it is worth solving. In some cases, solving the problem may not be in your personal interest. You may even become a threat instead of a hero.
Do not see the problem only through the narrator’s lens.
If you decide to solve it, you should not continue purely from the perspective presented to you. You must gather your own data, challenge assumptions, and construct your own picture. Editors read every sentence assuming it may contain an error. Similarly, you should test every claim. Ask other people, gather alternative viewpoints, validate information.
Einstein famously said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Simplify as much as you can.
Complex problems often consist of a few simple core issues and many secondary ones. If you try to take them all on at once, you miss the main trigger. You must strip the situation down to one or two root problems. Once these are solved, many others fade or disappear.
Michelangelo, when asked how he created his magnificent statues, said: “I simply remove everything that is not the statue.” Einstein added: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Break the problem into smaller parts.
Dividing a large problem into smaller pieces makes it solvable. Each small part becomes a mini-project. Solve one, and part of the main problem is gone.
Work on a portion each day.
Big problems are exhausting and energy draining. You may think intensely without advancing an inch, become discouraged, and give up. Instead, move away for a while, then return with fresh energy. Devote time each day, even to a small part. Gradually, you get closer to a solution.
Sometimes you think you have solved it, feel relief, and then realize the next day that you have not. That too is part of the process. And then, suddenly, one day the solution becomes clear.
Persistence and refusal to give up are crucial in solving major problems.
That article came from the experiments we have conducted over the years.
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