It surprises me how people fear problems in life. Think about it – a life without problems would be outright boring. Problems make life more interesting, because then and only then will you get the motivation to get of your set and do something. The reason why humans fear problems so much is because of how they view them. First all problems are just challenges. Secondly all problems have solutions. Every innovation in the world has come as a solution to a certain problem. If you are the type that dreads problems, then you have few issues with your problem solving skills one. One, when a problem or a crisis occurs, many people jump to the blame game. Who caused this? How did this happen? It happens in homes as parents or elder siblings breathe fire on their children or younger ones. Bosses sometimes also blame juniors when it is completely unnecessary especially coming from a position of responsibility and authority. Humans like to use anger in times of distress, but emotions never even solve a problem, they only make them worse.When faced with a problem or crisis, one should first think about controlling the damage. For example if a motorist knocks down a pedestrian, the first thing everybody should worry about is the lives of everyone involved in the accident and not who is to blame for the accident. If a mistake has occurred at the work place, the priority is first to find out how we can control any bad effect in the organization. After controlling the damage, the next thing is to try to find a solution in a sober and realistic manner. To rail and shout at others in at best childish and insensitive in dire situations, it never solves anything. Involve whoever you suspect to have caused the problem into the solution because they have the biggest responsibility, but do not leave it up to them. Make them feel responsible themselves but don’t make it look like the world is going to end because someone made a mistake. Mistakes are just human. Mistakes are what make us human. After finding a plausible solution to the problem wait before you can start the blame game. Find out how it happened and who caused it to happen. This is the time for people to take responsibility. Then find ways to make sure it never happens again. If you rush to enforce punitive action on whoever you suspect or you have found to be the cause of the problem, you have not solved the problem and have not found a way of making sure the problem never happens again. So, essentially, you have not done anything. This Sunday, improve your problem solving skills. kelviod@yahoo.com
