Every person approaches a problem in a different way such as
the ones that focus on the problem or the reason why the
problem emerged (problem focused thinking) and those that
rather prefer to think about possible solutions that help them to
solve a problem. Today on Danny world we’re gonna looking at how we can avoid thinking of a problem as a problem. We’re gonna how we can change our focus and think of a problem as a solution. Now follow closely please.
PROBLEM ORIENTED THINKING
Approaching a difficult situation problem oriented might
be helpful if we attempt to avoid similar problems or
mistakes in the future, but when it comes to solving the
problem we simply waste large amounts of our precious
time! Problem focused thinking does not help us at all to
solve difficult situations, which is especially necessary in
times where one must find quick solutions to an upcoming
problem. Furthermore the problem focused approach can
have negative effects on ones motivation, but more on this
later.
The whole “problem vs. solution oriented thinking” –
approach does not only apply when a person faces a problem or
a difficult situation, but is also being
applied in one’s everyday life, when we have to face a
challenging task or when having to perform several duties. In
fact: if we really focus our attention on this topic we can
discover that the majority of our decisions and our attitudes
towards tasks, problems and upcoming situations will either be
PROBLEM OR SOLUTION THINKING: In order to demonstrate you the
problem and solution focused approach I have chosen to give
you the example of a college student:
Let’s say there is a college student that really does not like math
at all. Just like every other college student he
will have to do some homework for math and if he wants to pass
the exams he will have to study a lot, whether he likes math or
not. The student would be approaching the subject math
problem oriented if he would continuously imagine all the
negative aspects about math that he does not like and might ask
himself the question, “Why do I have to study for math? For
what kind of reason?”. The college student would be talking
with his fellow students about the pointlessness of math, which
will only strengthen his negative opinion about math. Rather
than focusing his energy on studying for math he will get
uptight and spends large amounts of his time in an ineffective way that won’t help him to pass the exams.
We start to think solution oriented once we are aware that we
cannot change certain facts/problems and will only spend our
time in an inefficient way when we seek for the possible reasons
for these situations. By clarifying the reasons why the task we
have to face (e.g. math) might be important, for example to get
accepted in a good university or to increase our GPA, we can
bring the solution focused thinking to a further level.
It is really amazing to see how many people are thinking
problem oriented, especially as this behavior starts in school
and can be found in the professional world as well, for example
when an employee has to face a new task that he is not familiar
with, or has little to no knowledge about. Those that think
problem oriented would be imagining all the negative
consequences they might have to face or all the mistakes they
might commit, when trying to solve the task. The employee will
talk about his difficult situation with different colleagues, his
partner or friends, which will only increase his fear of the
upcoming task.
Now here is Danny’s solution to problem oriented mind.
HOW TO AVOID PROBLEM FOCUSED THINKING?
1. Self-knowledge:
In order to avoid problem focused thinking and to replace it
with solution oriented thinking we firstly need to discover that
we approach different tasks, problems, challenges, etc. in a
problem oriented way. This is the utmost important step to do.
You can identify whether you approach tasks problem oriented
by paying attention towards the questions that arise when you
have to face a task that you do not like, which might be
indicators for problem focused thinking:
Why do I have to perform this task?
What is the reason that I have to study this subject?
Why do I even spend time with this?
2. Fight problem oriented questions:
The very first step to approach problems with solution focused
thinking is to avoid questions that mainly focus on the reason or
the problem in general. You need to clarify yourself that the
question for the “WHY” will only waste important time that you
could have invested to solve a given problem.
3. Clarity:
When you come to the conclusion that a task needs to be done
you will see the pointlessness of further evaluating the
usefulness or non-usefulness of a task. So when you have to
face a task that you dislike you could ask yourself the question,
“Has this task to be fulfilled?” and when you conclude that the
answer is “Yes”, then you know that every further attempt to
evaluate the reasons and the “Why’s” is a waste of time.
4. Why is it important to solve this task?
Questioning and clarifying the importance of a task will finally
erase the root cause of every problem oriented question. By
clarifying the reasons why a tasks needs to be performed we can
effectively change our focus from the problem to possible
solutions.
5. Think about the solution:
The final step to profit from solution focused thinking the most
is to ask yourself different questions on how you can solve a
given task or problem:
How can I solve this task?
How can I address this problem?
What would be the first step to solve this problem?
What kind of preparations will be necessary for this task?
Quite lengthy right? But I had structure everything in a way that you could easily understand. With this, your orientation about problems should change. Be a solution today. Take that from Danny! This is Danny world.
DANNY WORLD 