When you're confronted with a problem what is your immediate reaction? Do you want to find a solution? Do you ask someone else to help you resolve the issue? Or do you just wait and hope that it will go away? Whichever is your approach to problem solving (there are lots more by the way!) you have learned it through experience or someone has taught you!
Fundamentally our brains are wired to be alert to danger and take immediate evasive action to keep ourselves safe. When you first experience a situation you perceive as dangerous you quickly learn what action to take and will repeat that again and again, as long as it works for you.
Our ability to solve problems is based on similar methodology. Our first reaction to a problem can be instinctive where our brain searches for similar patterns and responds with the closest pattern that it can find. This almost instant emotional response is very clear cut, black and white, all or nothing. For example when a black object on the path looks like a snake, your first reaction could be to feel frightened and run!
More rational problem solving occurs in part of the brain that functions in learning, reasoning and memory. Here we have more control and flexibility of our thoughts BUT it is a much slower process! This is where we see the same black object on the path, deduct what it could be (a stick perhaps) and then make decisions about what to do.
How do you problem solve? Do you dive in and make immediate decisions based on your emotional response to the problem? Or do you use logical or rational thinking to find a solution?
It may seem that the 'right' answer to this question is that you 'should' use logical thinking! Yet some problems do need to be resolved almost instantly while others need more reflection.
To solve problems effectively its important to be aware of how you function. Do you dive in and act quickly almost impulsively or do you step back and reflect before you make a decision or take action? When you have figured out how you function you will be more in control of your own problem solving ability.
If you're a person who dives in and acts quickly you are a fast decision maker, capable of moving rapidly from one task to the next. Entrepreneurs are often like this which can lead to both success and failure as it could mean you make more mistakes! The issues you confront have not been well thought through and the decisions you make don't turn out as you expect!
Or if you are a person who steps back and reflects on issues before making decisions you tend to be more reserved, quite and slower to act. This can mean you make less mistakes though in a fast moving market your decision could be too late and you have missed your opportunity.
Now that you're aware of how you function, the art of effective problem solving is being able to access both your emotional or instinctive response of acting quickly and your more rational and reflective thinking capability to make a decision about your issue.
About this Author
Martin Urban is a powerful online coach and trainer who teaches people how to transform their lives, careers and businesses with NLP Training, NLP Coaching and NLP Programming.
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