Problem Solving Tools: #2 – The Problem Isn’t Really The Problem

One of the labels commonly assigned to something that creates discontent is “problem” – which bears its own stigma. We dislike discontent. We hate problems.

Or do we?

Perhaps we think we don’t like problems because the vast majority of us have been conditioned from childhood to feel that having problems is bad and not having problems is good. Having a problem is generally seen as, well, a problem. Theodore Isaac Rubin, psychiatrist and author, disagrees. “The problem” he says, “is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”

Captain Jack Sparrow, in Pirates of the Caribbean agrees, “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.”

Having problems, therefore, is not really a problem. Believing that having problems is a problem – now, that’s a problem! The second of our problem solving tools is perspective. A positive perspective on problems positions us to produce powerful personal payoffs.

The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.

~ Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)