The Parable of the Problem Solver

Hello! It’s Yogesh writing this week. Today we will be looking at Problem Solving.

In life we face many problems. We are surrounded by them, whether they be tiny or large, good or bad. Just the other day I went across to Tesco to get some food for cooking, unfortunately I could not find what I wanted to buy. A problem. I went online and was trying to buy some Nike trainers. Guess what, they were out of stock! A problem. Whilst working on my myoelectric arm, one of the circuits did not work. A problem. Each day brings a new challenge and our only way out of such scenarios is to find a solution. I found substitute ingredients to make some food, I went onto a different stores website to buy my shoes and I rewired the circuit to make it function properly. Although, the effort to find a solution in these three examples varied in terms of effort, there was a still a solution!

Short Story:

I shall now narrate a story which I came across. It outlines that however many problems you may face you must not have a negative outlook. A negative outlook just feeds the problem and makes it even harder to find the answer.

Charlie Anderson had always had a pessimistic perspective on things. Her life was not the way she wanted it. People didn’t like her. She kept asking herself Why? Why was this happening to her? Why was her life so miserable?

Finally, she decided to see a doctor she had heard about for a while. Dr. Foster was his name.

She sat down and lay on the sofa, and started explaining her problems, the doctor immediately took the glass of water in front of her and tossed it in her face.

“Hey Doc, what is this? This isn’t the Ice Bucket Challenge!,” she exclaimed.

The doctor then said, “I bet you don’t feel miserable now!” and then went on to ask her some questions.

Doc: What is so great about this?

Charlie:  Well, you just threw some water in my face!

Doc: Well what could be great about this?

Charlie: Well, I don’t have to worry about drinking it…” She started to laugh, “and I don’t have to decide to wash my hair or not!”

Doc: “What’s not perfect yet?”

Charlie: “Well doc, my life isn’t perfect yet,” said Charlie, “but when you put it that way, it makes it sound like that it has the potential to be more perfect and all I have to do is just work at it.”

Doc: “What are you going to do to make it the way I want it then?”

Charlie: “Wow, good question, I never thought I had any say in changing. I always just let life happen to me, I didn’t know I could actively choose to make it happen the way I want things to happen…”

Doc: “What are you willing to NO LONGER do in order to have things the way I want them?”

Charlie: “Hmmm, I think I’m going to ask myself different questions when a problem arises or just in general,” said Charlie, “I’m not going to see the negative in situations but try to see things in a more hopeful and optimistic way. Maybe I’ll stop having a fixed mindset or a passive personality and see things as a challenge for growth!”

Doc: “How can you do what’s necessary to get this job done AND enjoy the process?”. The doctor then continued and went onto say “It’s important to realize that life is a continual and never ending process of improvement and learning. You must make sure to ENJOY the journey instead of stressing about the end. Many of the people living over a hundred years know that the secret to living a long life is just not worrying.”

Charlie took a long look at the doctor and then at her hands and then at herself in the mirror.

With a big sigh, and tears welling up in her eyes, she said, “Thank you doctor, I think I know what I need to do.”

“Good.” said the doctor, “We all know what we need to do.”

“The most important step… is to START.”

Conclusion:

From this we can learn that in life we will face many problems. Problems come and go. It’s our reaction to the situation which really makes the difference. Science says that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is especially skilled at adapting to new situations.  Individuals whose brains exhibit the at-risk signatures may be more likely to benefit from strategies that boost the brain’s dorsolateral prefrontal activity, including cognitive behavioural therapy, working memory training, or transcranial magnetic stimulation.

The pre-frontal cortex evolves as we grow older, our problem solving skills become more refined. Our reaction to scenarios become more measured. How we see things change. It’s mainly down to neuroplasticity. The brain keeps changing as we age, what you are doing right now is having an effect on your brains wiring. How you live your life, the things you do today, tomorrow and in the future will shape you for the future, for the decisions you make.

To find solutions you have to think different, your approach has to be different. James Clear, the author of the book “Atomic Habits”, goes into more detail about this. I’ll leave that for another post.

Hope you had a great week!

Are you ready to make that new connection?

links: https://www.psypost.org/2017/11/activity-brains-thinking-problem-solving-center-linked-avoiding-anxiety-50223

https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/16/know-your-brain-prefrontal-cortex

Stay tuned for more next week!!