Are you focusing too much on the problem? How about looking at the solution...
There is a fantastic argument for the benefits of identifying and recognising when there is a problem of some description in any given environment, and once that problem has been identified, clearly marking its properties can also be very helpful in leading to a resolution.
As John Dewey elegantly stated “A problem well-defined is a problem half solved.”
Once the problem has been defined however, the next part is shifting your attention to the solution.
As the video clip from Patch Adams highlights, focusing on the problem only serves to narrow down your options, focusing on the problem encourages you to become more and more specific, until it appears that there is only one possible solution.
If that one possible solution then does not work – there appears to be no way out, and no way to resolve the problem. This can lead to hopelessness, and if you have ever experienced hopelessness in a situation, you will appreciate it is not a pleasant place to be.
Focusing on the solution on the other hand…… opens up possibilities!
Focusing on the solution allows you to create, and to generate multiple options, multiple perspectives and leads to a more positive approach to problem solving.
As a simple example, let’s imagine your ‘problem’ was the way in which you get to the other side of the road.
You have identified the problem, and you have decided you need to get across the road to solve it. You begin to put all your energy into figuring out how to get across the road. Following this definition of the problem and your specific solution, you realise that there is a constant, unrelenting flurry of traffic.
Red cars, yellow Lorries, black motorbikes. Constantly moving past one after another…
So you begin to try to understand the movement of the traffic, focus on understanding the timing of the cars, the size of the lorries, the speed of the motorbikes, and you begin to feel that there is no way you will be able to cross this road. You start to feel hopeless.
Before long you are sitting in a negative spin by the side of the road, with seemingly no route out, and stuck with your problem.
Now…
How about if we were to approach that differently?
Upon identifying that you need to get to the other side, you focus on the solution.
You focus on HOW can you get to the other side?
Your approach of focusing on the solution, leads you to realise you could go across the road, you could go over the road, you could go under the road, or you could go around the road. After generating these possibilities, of which there are many, you notice the flurry of traffic, you see ‘across’ is not a good option, so you move on, you consider if you could go over the road instead.
You use your flexibility to scan the area and low and behold 50m down the street, there is a readymade overpass that will easily take you to the other side.
Then, with a smile on your face, and energy in your limbs, you can stroll over the road and appreciate being on the other side. Job done.
By focusing on the solution, the HOW, you create options, you create flexibility, and you were able to solve the problem with ease.
Of course this is a very simple analogy, but how about if we were to apply this same principle to anxiety? To depression? Or to chronic pain?
If you have identified that there is a problem, you may have identified that you don’t feel the way you would like to in certain situations, as these environments or contexts lead you to experiencing the feelings of anxiety.
Putting work into defining the problem, you realise that this happens when you are at home in your room and when you are thinking about what may happen the next day, the next week, or some time at work.
You begin to notice the unpleasant symptoms that accompany this feeling of anxiety. You begin to wonder why you are feeling this way. Why you are feeling anxious? Why this is happening? And thinking the fact that you just want to not feel this way.
If this sounds familiar – could it be that you too are focusing too much on the problem?
What if, just like with the road analogy, you begin to ask HOW can I feel calmer? HOW can I feel more in control? WHAT can I do to learn to think differently?
This then creates options, choices, and creates possible solutions.
It may be that you have your own strategies for coping, be that medication, meditation, mindfulness, exercise, or a combination. But if you are needing these strategies to cope, could it be that there is a better solution out there?
From a Body Mind Worker perspective, the root cause of your anxiety will be evident within your unconscious/nonverbal communication (the bits other than the words), and a Body Mind Worker practitioner can assist you in noticing how it is that you ‘do’ your problem.
The pattern that causes anxiety was likely established long ago, maybe in childhood, and at one point in time was an appropriate response. However, it does not serve you anymore. After defining the problem, utilising one of the unique principles of Body Mind Workers, ‘the screen’, we can assist you in updating and adding to your current ability to respond, and assist you in accessing many more of your unconscious resources, some of which you may not even know you have. But trust me – they are there!
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