Problem solving inherently creates more problems to be solved.
Trying to solve a problem is paradoxically itself a problem to be solved where trying to implement possible solutions to the problem also creates new problems to be solved.
This vicious spiral of doom is created when we only focus on the problem. It is akin to discovering a hole in the otherwise smooth ground and in the attempt to understand why the hole was formed, we dig deeper and deeper into this hole in the hope of finding the answer which inadvertently creates a bigger hole!
What most people do not realise, including most coaches, is that problem solving is very limited in its usefulness and relevance. Ironically, it gives an illusion of being in control of our lives and challenges and gives false hopes that we can “fix” any problems as long as we understand what caused it.
What we advocate is contrary to the mainstream propaganda and practice. What we propose is to be outcome centred and focus on how we want our future life to be better and outcomes that we want to work towards rather than focus on the problem or challenge.
Going Beyond Problem Solving
At first glance, this might not make sense to most people. We often hear the disbelief from others when we propose this as most would intuitively think that we are faced with a huge challenge, the correct thing to do should be to focus on the challenge itself and try to solve it.
However, if we zoom out and think logically about it, regardless of challenges that we face, what matters really to us is how we hope our lives could be better. Solving the challenge or problem is really simply the means to this end objective and desired outcome.
For instance, if we are facing immense stress and difficulties in working for a difficult boss, rather than focus on the problem (ie how to deal with a difficult boss), what really matters could be “how can I have a more stress free, pleasant and enjoyable time at work?”.
This focus on the desired outcome can lead to many different ideas like better mental wellbeing coping strategies, changing job scope, or finding a new job elsewhere, listening to music at work, taking short breaks during the day to recharge, getting more sleep to have more energy to deal with work challenges, etc.
So rather than delve into the details of the problem and spiral deeper into the quagmire, it makes more sense to leapfrog over the problem to explore the desired outcome. The desired outcome is really what determines the “Why”, the purpose behind our effort. Just what are we really hoping to achieve in the end?
When we leapfrog over the problem to first look at the desired outcome, a few amazing things happen.
First, we gain clarity on what we want to achieve – our desired future or outcome.
Second, we might see how there could be many different possible ways to achieve our desired future or outcome.
Third, we might realise the presenting problem might not even need to be solved!
This is not to say that we do not solve problems at all. When we determine the desired outcome to be achieved, and work on the possible ways and solutions to get there, we will naturally be involved in problem solving in figuring out the best way to do this. However, a significant difference is that in leapfrogging to the desired outcome first before problem-solving, we are focused on what we want (our desired future / outcome) and not what we do not want (our presenting problem). We will always be aiming towards a future where our life is better off in some way (or our “desired future”), and all our efforts are positively oriented and constructive towards that desired outcome. We will then see our problems as “aspirations to be realised” instead of “problems to be fixed”.
Science has also found that when we think about our desired future and how we hope our lives will be better in the future, we feel more connected to our “Future Self”, recognize and consider the possible long-term consequences of our actions and inadvertently feel more motivation to act as needed to realise this desired outcome. In behaviour and psychology studies , it was found that not only do such people have more sound financial planning and asset accumulation, exercised more, were healthier, had higher moral standards, these effects lasted for more than 10 years after the initial consideration of their Future Self.
Focusing on the desired future and thinking through how our lives could be better, and possible ways to get there also creates a Self-Fulfilling Prophesy effect, first discovered by sociologist Robert Merton in 1948 , where our self-beliefs create a virtuous cycle and make us feel empowered to do what it takes to achieve our aspirations and actually creates success as envisioned.
So if we believe in the possibility of things becoming better in the future and in our abilities to effect strategies and solutions to get there we stand a good chance of achieving it.
Conversely, if we focus on the problem or challenge and get stuck in the quagmire and feel overwhelmed by the difficulties involved, this Self-Fulfilling Prophesy works in a negative way to create a vicious cycle where our disbelief and loss in motivation and agency results in failure as expected.
