“This is the mark of perfection of character—to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending.” – Marcus Aurelius
The manner in which we turn problems into solutions will largely reflect on our capacity to think creatively. There is an endless array of problems if you think about it. Some of which are better left alone, others that are unsolvable or have yet to become known or created, and there are even those which require years of teamwork in order to make heads and tails of. For an individual to address all the kinds of problems and/or fallacies that exist in the world would be rather problematic and time consuming to say the least. Therefore it may be practical to initially deal with the things that are within our control.
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Perhaps some of you have heard of the 80/20 rule, which has to do with focusing more on the solution rather than the problem. This can be a great method for situations in which it is useful, but it can’t be applied in all circumstances. Neither can we apply universal principles to all particular events and have everything work out for the best. In other words, acknowledging the limitations of our knowledge could very well be the first step to transforming our problems into solutions.
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Perhaps if we stop to reflect upon what we don’t know before we jump at the goal to eradicate a problem, then we may be able to better orient ourselves. What we perceive to be the problem may not actually be a problem. For instance, many of us would agree that suffering is difficult to bear, and that we should work to alleviate it, but what if suffering is as necessary as the air we breathe; what might happen if we started to embrace suffering instead of trying to avoid it.
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Another example of how we might be misdiagnosing a problem: What if the increase of natural disasters is actually a solution to our global crises. This kind of thinking may help us stretch our imagination to reveal possibilities that may not otherwise appear should we hold tightly to its contrary view. Turning problems into solutions is not just an attitude adjustment, but may very well open our minds to a paradigm shift, one in which is beneficial and necessary, if we are to effectively deal with life’s ongoing challenges.
Philosopher Muse 
I like the way you think Jason. You always leave me thinking of how I can make my life, and hopefully those around me, better. Thank you!
Your kind words are as a benediction.
You have a way with words Jason. That was a wonderful thing to say – thank you!
Nice, reflected and to the point 🙂
Thank you Andreas
The “solution” mindset is the corporate/CEO mindset. Through that, it becomes the act of “deliberation” when “creating problems”, so that society continues to spin like a clock does the same.
A “solution”, as I see it, translates to an “opinion”. The problem, therefore, remains as a question, and we become comfortable in question of the problem. That is, we remain in misunderstanding of the problem, choosing rather to offer a “solution” on how to solve it. Imagine if one person was seen by a thousand different people. It would be no more than the act of those thousand or so people having a fractured image to see. This means that each of those thousand or so people will see this one person, and see a thousand different viewpoints. It will be a fragmented reflection, and nothing more. That’s to say that for people to “understand” a problem, then they must have the ability to empathize with the one who creates the issue, not the people who are affected by the issue.
That last sentence I wrote details that the person “wishing to be understood” is actually the person creating the problem. It is because those thousand or so people could have, at one time, been merely one or two people, before that one misunderstood person chose to not allow anyone “into” them, to understand them.
Although… should empathy be the sole ingredient to “understand” the one who creates the issue, sometimes a bit of force is required to allay that person’s stubbornness.
Each person who holds an “opinion” merely holds a “fragment” of the “entirety”.
And… I will forever say these words, “If 2 and 2 could make 4, and this is an answer to a simple problem, not possible to be argued against, then it goes to show that for each problem in this world, there are needless complications, and everyone who avoids the answer.”
Lovely, Jason!
Thanks