Creativity - Learning To Problem Solve

When something happens and you wonder how to deal with it then you need to think creatively to find a solution you may not have considered before. Here are some tips to enable you to think creatively about solving the problem.

Prevent a recurrent problem recurring.

If it's something which has happened before then ask yourself whether there is anything you can do to prevent it happening again. If something occurs regularly then there may be something you can do. It is said that there is no such thing as failure: each time you have a problem with something it is an opportunity to learn for the future way you will deal with something similar. So put that learning into practice and stop doing the same thing and getting the same result, until you've discovered what you have to do to get the result you want.

Ask others for their suggestions.

Sometimes there is something obvious you could do but because you are close to it you may not realise there is a simple solution. It's always useful to talk to others about any problem you may have and be open to their suggestions for solving it. Look around and find others who have dealt with similar situations. People are usually flattered to share their experiences with you. So listen well and decide what you can use from what they tell you. Since your problem might be subtly different form theirs it is fine to adapt what they tell you and use what would help you.

Wait for someone else to do something about the problem.

You may be assuming that the problem is only yours and you have to find the way to solve it yourself when actually it might be someone else's problem too. Not only might they have ideas to solve it but more to the point they may actually do what's needed themselves. So if you can sit back and relax then eventually another person may do what's needed.

Is it really a problem?

There is a technique you could try called 're-framing' whereby you think about a situation in another way. This means that if you think about your problem as for example a 'learning opportunity' or 'a new experience' then you may no longer perceive it as a problem which needs to be solved, rather something to be experienced and enjoyed in a positive and welcoming way.

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