Be a Great Problem Solver.
Problems, difficulties & obstacles are a normal, natural & unavoidable fact of life. If you have to get ahead of life you have to face a series of problems ceaselessly without getting weary. Your work will be a continuous succession of problems, like the waves coming in from the ocean, one after the other. You will have problems all day long which might vary in size & importance.
The only part of this situation that you can control is your attitude, the way in which you approach each problem as it arises. Unfortunately, most people allow themselves to be overwhelmed by problems. They get scared, frightful & portray it larger than life as if they are going to eaten away by them. They think & talk continually about who is to blame, why the problem has occurred, & the possible repercussions in terms of damage or cost. But this is not at all helpful.
Instead, your job is to be solution oriented & concentrate all your energies on what can be done to resolve the problem, whatever it is.
People who are solution-oriented are the most valuable people in any organization. They are extremely positive & constructive. They concentrate & focus like eagles on what can be done now rather than what has already occurred & cannot be changed.
There are several strategies as how to dilute the problems & difficulties.
- You can change your attitude from negative & worried to positive & constructive in a single moment by simply switching your thoughts off of the problem & onto the solution. Instead of asking or worrying about who did what & who is to blame, you should instead ask the questions, “what do we do now?” & “What’s the solution?”
- Program your mind well in advance on the problems & difficulties you are going to face when faced with challenges. If you plan in advance for the inevitable, when they come, you will be psychologically prepared. You are not caught unawares. It is not easy but with constant practice your mind will come out with some solution. This is where you show yourself, & everyone around you, what you are truly made of.
- Ask yourself why are you on your company’s pay roll? Draw a list of everything you have been hired to do. Also be sure to differentiate between activities & accomplishments, between inputs & the required outputs of your job. Then organize your list of priority, by what is most important & what is less important. You have been given a certain designation, status, authority & responsibility & salary in your company to resolve the problems & come out with a solution.
- When confronted with bigger problems, difficulties the other alternative could also be to involve your boss. List out the problems you are facing in your work with the solutions & take it to your boss. What does your boss consider to be the most ideal solution to the problem you are confronted with in your work place, whatever his answer, immediately resolve to work every day, every hour precisely on those tasks to come out with a solution.
- Be a kind of person to bring in ideas, imagination & creativity when you come to your work place. Only by practicing & putting it daily your ideas & imagination will get better. Once the ideas start flowing, they get better & better. Once they get better, they keep improving. If these ideas, imagination which get generated automatically is put for diluting problems in your work place, you tend to rated as highly valuable.
- Remember, all of life is a test. For you to emerge successful in terms of solution, you must pass the ‘persistence test.’ You take the persistence test whenever you are confronted with unexpected problems in the place of work. Once you decide not to give up come what may in terms of decimating the problems, you will be termed as a problem solver. Eventually, you will reach a point in life where you become absolutely unstoppable.
In business & in life, the better you get at solving problems, the bigger will be the problems you will be given to solve. The bigger & more the problems you solve, the more money you will be paid, the more power you will have, & the higher position you will attain.
Resolve to be solution oriented in your approach towards life & work. Be the kind of person that people bring their problems to you always because you have ideas as to how to go about solving them. The more you focus on solutions, the more effectively you think & the better solutions you come up with. You can put your entire life & career on the fast track towards being paid more & promoted faster by becoming an intensely solution-oriented person.
