Solve Problems: Learn How To Resolve Issues And Reach Your Goals

1 The need to solve problems

Problems usually involve questions or issues which contain uncertainty, doubt or difficulty. That is what makes them problems. But the lack of impetus to do anything at all, let alone produce workable solutions, can often become a problem in itself.

Some people find identifying the problem to be the most difficult part, while others find that working out a viable solution is the stumbling block. Making the decision about how to solve the problem may be the impediment, while putting the chosen solution into practice through fear of the unknown could be the blockage.

There are various reasons why problems do not get tackled, many of which may have to do with feeling faint-hearted, fearing failure and not coping with uncertainty.

Failure to recognise problems

You can be forgiven for not recognising problems when they occur because they rarely present themselves as a gift-wrapped package, labelled ‘Problem’.

Problems have a habit of either creeping up on you when you least expect them, or arriving like thunderbolts on a hot summer’s evening. They come in all shapes and sizes and never have neat boundaries. Nor is it the most important or relevant aspects which first come to your attention.

Worse still, they can appear to be one thing while turning out to be something totally different, or something you have met before, but in a new disguise.

Avoidance of problems

Even when you recognise that there is a problem, it can sometimes be difficult to face up to the fact. There may be several reasons for this.

• If the problem involves a loss of self-esteem or feelings of shame or guilt, one way of coping is to deny that the problem exists, because the reality is too unpleasant to contemplate.

• If finding a scapegoat to blame becomes more important than solving the problem, it is easy to let things get out of perspective, with the result that solving the problem takes a back seat.

• If solving the problem means tackling someone about, say, a personal habit or bad behaviour, it may seem easier to duck out of addressing the issues rather than risk a negative or aggressive reaction.

The temptation is not to face up to the situation and to hope that any potential problem will either not materialize or will somehow solve itself. Unfortunately, problems seldom go away; they generally get worse.

Telling others that you have a problem does not tend to resolve it, nor does procrastinating, or blaming someone for its cause. It does not matter whose fault it is, you need to locate and identify the problem and then resolve to do something about it.

Living with problems

It is an extremely rare person who has no problems. Yet people often seem happy enough to live with or adapt themselves to their problems instead of resolving them. This is because solving problems invariably involves some hard thinking.

When a problem seems quite small, the amount of time and resources that are required to solve it usually seems disproportionate against the benefit gained. So the temptation is to live with it or ignore it.

It is only when the problem gets larger that you suddenly find the motivation to solve it. Say, for instance, your office has