It is often said that until you sit and think about what exactly the problem is, you’re somewhat far from getting a solution.

I had a challenge sometime ago. My apartment had been the only apartment in the neighborhood without power supply. My nextdoor neighbor with whom we share same electricity wire would have power supply, but our case was indeed different. It became very worrisome as my roommate and I would take our gadgets to power at one neighbor’s house or the other. It continued for some days until we contemplated inviting an electrician.

Prior to then, we literally thought that we had been cut off Power Sector; only God knew we were wrong.

We continued with that challenge until something happened during the early hours of one fateful morning.

It was about 2:45am. I was deep in sleep, when my neighbor’s bulb shun with all brightness through my window that it pinched me up. Power had been supplied!

You should’ve witnessed thoughts running through my mind. As I sat there in thoughts, I thought to myself,  how do I wake my neighbor up just to power our phones? What really is the problem? What if there was nothing wrong with our connection, what if it was fine? What if the bulbs, fan and switches were only just turned off?

First of all, I shoved away the last thought. How could that be and our hearts never directed us to check all these while?

Does it mean that our minds chose to see a huge problem while we actually ignored the little things?

I violently stood, went to the nearest wall socket and turned it on. That was it! Power had been there all the while.

There was never a problem, all we did was ignore the act of identifying the source of the challenge.

Steps

1. Clearly Identify The Issues

Sit and identify the source of the problem? How did it begin? Where did I go wrong? Is there even a problem?

2. List The Possible Solutions (Options)

Write down ALL the possible solutions you can think of. Don’t worry if the lists becomes too long, just list them down.

3. Evaluate The Options And Choose The Best

From your list, evaluate each one and look out for the option with the best solution. ‘If I’m to go with option 3, what will be the result?’ Then, visualize its process.

4. Implement The Best Option By Setting Goals On How To Work With It

You’ve chosen your best option. Now, how do you go about it? Set goals. Break it into a plan and stick to it. Remember the characteristics of a goal.

5. Set Deadlines For When You Want To See Results

A decision without a deadline is a meaningless decision. If it is major and will take sometime to implement, set a series of short-term deadline and a schedule for reporting. With deadlines and sub-deadlines, you’ll know immediately if you’re on track or if you’re falling behind.

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