Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
solving any problem
genkaku
Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
A BBC essay suggests that there are only three questions worth asking when approaching life"s problems:
1 Are you really willing to change what you’ve been doing?
2. Can you think of a better strategy or idea than the status quo?
3. Can you execute on your chosen solution?
True, every mother's son has got some feel-good-sounds-good nostrum to peddle, but the ones that try to circumvent the hot air quotient are rare. I like the put-up-or-shut-up quality here.
1
Comments
I like the 4th one. The one that actually - YOU asked.
Algorithms aside, how can one hope to find an answer to a problem without first intricately defining what the question/problem really is at its root?
That's a good question.
And at what point, during this problem-solving, do you evaluate between "Wow, this really is worth pursuing and digging into further!" and "OMG...actually, why am I even bothering to look into this?!"
ETA: I guess 2 & 3 might cover that........
And........am I the problem here? Always a loaded question......
Change your awareness first, then change your life.
To solve any problem you need to know what the problem is, if not you will be chasing ghost and use all your energy in to that.
Iam a specialist in procrastinating things I dont really like, many of the hindrances pops up before I start, so its a question about attitude I guess.
First I write up the problem I need to solve, not a big list with all my problems, then I will loose the courage, so I just put up one problem at the time.
If the problem is huge then I will cut it down to small action steps.
Then, when I have time and energy, Iam walking towards this problem
and try to do the best I can, without a judging mind (this is bad/good).
If I really dont like it, I try to recognise that life is impermanent, so it will not
last forever, which is kind of refreshing.
Que?
Some of us don't know what a problem is? Ay curumba. May all the Saints and HH Don Trump save us!
What is the real nature of the problem? Let us have a meeting to discuss whether the arrow in our body is actually a problem ...
http://opcoa.st/0Xhj9
Personally I find problems easy to spot.
In all areas of life including the spiritual we hear:
Am I being sceptical and cynical?
Yes. Not a problem for me ...
The beauty of being married - pass all problems on to wife to solve!
Case in point: igorant husband puts three litres too much oil in car. Car goes up in a plume of white smoke as wife drives it home from dropping kiddies at school. Wife spends day getting car fixed. Hubby gets home and drives car to buddhist centre for.meditation class.
Problem. What problem?
I've found that one of the most important life skills I've learned thus far in solving problems, is knowing the right questions to ask. Once you have a well-framed question, then you can start finding the answers, including to the questions you ask yourself. Sometimes you never quite grasp the right question, and the problem just kind of dissolves on it's own. Despite the truth in the "there is no dumb question" statement, you get far better resolution when you know how to ask the right questions.
Ah. So.
New problem for you:
What to do if wife's ire causes you to sleep overnight in back of car, grasshopper....?
@federica Thankfully I have accumulated sufficient brownie points (merit?) with wife so water still calm for now.....
Hahahahahahaha! Wise monkey add 'for now'....!
Just a hint ... to solve positively any problem, all you have to do is call it an "issue." This is the same principle as diminishing a physical ailment by referring to its hospital solution as a "procedure," not an "operation."
@genkaku reminds me of politicians, which use this all the time to their favor
Doublespeak is “language which makes the bad seem good, the negative seem positive, the unpleasant seem unattractive, or at least tolerable,”
or George Orwell’s observation: “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind
@Namada cognitive therapy and its cultish NLP version are very into the idea used by politicians; Reframing. In other words putting a positive spin on the situation.
To manipulate a monkey mind, or maladapted mind is I would suggest skilful. However politicians are as always lying to promote a partial agenda, much as you suggest.
I do feel that many people stay with inaction but change requires struggle. When things are tolerable, we tolerate. Then some inevitable/change or crisis and where are our resources? Have we prepared? What we need is something like ... [thinking cap on] ... dharma ... oh yeah, is plan!
It's just like nuclear technology... NLP can be used for good (psychotherapy) or bad (politics, evangelism). It's about the intent of the people wielding it, which via desire ultimately brings us back again to Buddhist exposition on ignorance and delusion.