If you’re like most people, you have no shortage of problems waiting to be solved. And as you try to solve them, you talk, talk, talk about it.
There’s something very satisfying about understanding the problem, its causes, and what will fix it. The more we consider, discuss, and come up with ideas on how to solve it, the more we become experts on the problem.
But it’s easy to get trapped in a hole where all you do is talk. You might know your problem inside and out, but what about the solution?
Focusing on a solution is much easier than you’d think. And the results are amazing. By simply thinking about a solution and not the problem, a whole new world opens. That is, instead of obsessing about the problem and what we must fix, we think about the outcome — what we want to be different.
Question, question, question
New questions bring about new ways of thinking. The questions we ask ourselves when faced with a problem influence the path we take and the reality we create. By changing our questions, we change our focus, and at the same time, change our reality.
See for yourself by asking these questions while searching for a solution:
Result:
What do you want to be different?
Evaluate:
What are you already doing that’s working? How would you rate where you are, and where you want to be, on a scale of 1 to 10?
Expertise:
What has worked for you in similar situations?
Verify and take action:
Where are you, and what is one small step you can take to bring you closer to your outcome?
Check-in:
What’s better? How did you accomplish that?
When you are faced with your next problem (and you know there’s at least one out there), remember that your focus will become your reality. So choose wisely and bring your passion, creativity, sense of humor and know-how to your future challenges. Just remember to find out what’s working and do more of it!
