Top Ten Ways to Solve Problems

Top Ten Ways to Solve Problems
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL ANGIER
Being alive means we have and will have problems.

And if we're going to be confronted with problems the rest of our lives, then becoming good at facing and solving problems seems to be a worthy endeavor.

Before I jump into my list, allow me to share a few of my thoughts ABOUT problems.

I believe there is almost always more than one solution to any problem. And if you think there's only one, you will be significantly limiting yourself.

I also think that in business, you don't really have problems, you have expenses. This assumes that every problem in business can be solved. It's just going to cost time, energy and/or money to solve it. Not so with all personal problems. Many of them cannot be solved with money alone.

Our attitude toward problems and problem-solving is probably as important, if not more important, than our skills or knowledge in solving them. How we approach our problems is critical.

If we're angry about having the problem, it's going to be a lot harder to solve. Complaining about why we have the problem takes time andenergy away from SOLVING the problem. What we resist tends to persist.

And remember that problems can be, and often are, good things. We learn from them. We create or discover opportunities that wouldn't be realized without working through them. If there were no problems to solve, we would not be necessary.

That said, here are my Top Ten Ways to Solve Problems: