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Category: Problem Solving

Same Skills = Same Problems

Published on February 28, 2022

There’s no such thing as a problem-free life.

Life is merely a game of exchanging and/or upgrading problems.

If you want to ‘upgrade’ your problems, you have to upgrade your skills.

For example, investing money isn’t a problem you get to solve if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. You have to figure out how to make more than your lifestyle costs before you get to solve investing.

Running from problems and/or distracting yourself from building up higher level skills only keeps you stuck having to face the same problems because that’s what your lower level skills know how to face.

It’s those who build the most valuable/ interesting skills that get to solve the most valuable/ interesting problems in the world.

And the pathway there always starts with the problems that are right in front of you first.

Breaking Ceilings

Published on December 20, 2021

Feel like you’ve reached a ceiling?

Rather than trying to push upwards, try digging downwards.

For the height of your ceiling is directly dependent on the depth of your foundation.

Update And Expand

Published on August 24, 2021

Applications will only do what they’re programmed to do.

A dictionary application that’s programmed to pull up a certain word when it’s searched for—will only do that.

And so it is with your mind.

A mindset that’s programmed to pull up a certain response when it’s presented with a certain problem—will only do that.

This is why language is essential—it is literally the means through which programs are updated. Both in applications and the mind.

HTML, for example, is a language used by developers to design how web page elements (hyperlinks, text, media, etc) are displayed on a computer browser.

Imagine if the first iteration of the language—that was developed and released in 1991—was still the language we used today?

Can you remember what web pages looked like from the 1990’s?

Well guess what? That’s what your mindset looks like when you never update your thinking language either.

Sick of thinking about a problem the same way over and over? Stop using the same language to try and solve it.

Update and expand.

Roots

Published on August 21, 2021 
Don’t let the wind uproot you.
Let its best attempts
To topple, twist, bend, and break
Be the exact force you need
To shimmy your roots deeper
Into the very ground
It was plotting to yank you from.

The Unemotional Movie

Published on June 9, 2021

Imagine watching a movie where the main character is born into a nice family, grows up in a nice neighborhood, enjoys nice experiences, goes to a nice school, gets a nice job, settles down with a nice family—THE END.

No drama. No problems. No conflict.

No creative thinking. No problem solving. No hero journey.

Just one nice scene after the next. One easy step forward after the next. Only happiness, smiles, and victories—and no sadness, depth, or challenge.

Can you think of any such movie? I can’t. And here’s why: they don’t get produced. Why? Because they’re bland. But, also because movies like this are further from the human experience than even the most fantastical sci-fi movies.

If there’s one common goal that all movies share, it’s to evoke an emotional response. And the best way to remove that response is to make everything drama/problem/conflict-free; by flatlining the ebbs and flows; by making everything, just, nice.

The drama is precisely what draws us in—because our lives are dramatic. The problems are what captivate our attention—because our lives are filled with problems. And sharing that experience of drama, problems, conflict—even with fictional characters—is what connects us to the greater experience of being human.

If I were to sit down and watch a playback movie of your life, would you want me to only see the highlight reel of your life? Or would you want me to see what you had to overcome in order to earn your highlight reel? Victory isn’t as sweet without loss. Accomplishment isn’t as meaningful without challenge. The “highs” aren’t as appreciated without the “lows.”

Remember this the next time you confront drama, problems, and conflict—it’s your chance to add some depth, contrast, and feeling to the movie of your life.

You Stop Incoming Hits By Hitting Back

Published on June 4, 2021

A friend of mine is going through a rough time. Life is hitting them from all angles. All they want to do is crawl into a ball and hide. In their defense, I think we’ve all been there. I know I have.

But, all this does is move shots from all angles in the front, to all angles at their back. It does nothing to stop the incoming shots—it merely changes the target.

In self-defense situations, you always do everything you can to avoid the fight—but you also defend yourself when necessary. Getting swung at even once is just cause for self-defense. And defending yourself isn’t curing into a ball; defending yourself is hitting back.

This is what you have to do when life decides to hit you, too. You have to hit back. Not by punching, kicking, or elbowing. But, by confronting, transforming, and responding.

Just like you block a punch by confronting it with your arm, you block a problem by confronting it with your mind. Just like you transform a person’s energy against them in Martial Arts, you transform emotional energy into a creative outlet in life. Just like you respond to an aggressor’s attack based on training, you respond to life’s challenges based on experience.

And if you don’t know what to do against an attack and get hit—what do you do? Curl into a ball? Or figure out what went wrong and learn how to defend against it? The latter of course. So, expand your mind! Find the right book. Write to find clarity. Talk to more experienced people. Broaden your understanding. And hit back.

Don’t just give life a different target; make life the target and take your shots.