The Emotions of Problem-Solving

 

The Emotions of Problem-Solving
Let your emotions be your guide.

Your emotional mindset is important when problem-solving, from the child to the highly-ranked adult. Learning to solve problems is also a matter of having the right emotions about problems. We all have various motions about problems, many of the everyday variety but also some very complex problems that are part of your workday. The list below discusses various emotions about problems concerning prospects for solving them – and even what solutions you provide. This list is important to all of us, but especially so for instructors trying to teach their students how.

·        If you fear the problem, this can be your defeat or greatest motivator to solve it.

·        If you make the problem your enemy, then solving it means its defeat.

·        If the problem becomes your friend, then solving it cements the friendship.

·        If you love the problem, this usually means you have that glimmer on how to solve it.

·        If you hate the problem, this invites paralysis in solving it.

·        If you can feel clarity about the problem, this means you are one with the problem and eventual solution.

·        If you feel uncertain about the problem, this can mean you have not clarified exactly what the problem is.

·        If you feel self-confident about the problem, this is good but could lead to accepting an incorrect solution because of overconfidence.

·        If you feel lucky about the problem, this may not help at all.

·        If you feel ambivalent about the problem, this means you partially don’t care about the solution, and this in turn makes the problem more difficult.

·        If you are confused about the problem, you need much preparation before trying to solve it.

·        If you are anxious about the problem, then your mind is clouded with concern, and solving it becomes more difficult.

·        If you don’t care about the problem, you begin your solution already with one strike, maybe two strikes, against your prospects.

We have tried to be comprehensive in compiling this list but economical about the number of major feelings most of us have. Most of our lives are spent solving problems of one form or another. Thus, this list specifies for problems the aphorism given us by Socrates, “Know thyself.”

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© 2024 G Donald Allen