There’s a very simple magic trick anyone can do that instantly turns awful problems into astonishing solutions. What is it?
A change in perspective.
How to Turn Problems Into Solutions
Q. What do these “problems” all have in common?
- Mold on an abandoned microscope slide
- A shirt pocket ruined by melting chocolate
- Sand burrs in the dog’s fur
- Glue that failed to stick
- A ruined print job in a humid Brooklyn publishing house
A. They were all “accidents” that make life better for everyone today.
I’ll give you the details in a moment.
Often, the difference between a “problem” and a “solution” is just a change in perspective.
Right now, it’s 103 degrees outside. At least – since it’s the desert – there’s no humidity. Small blessings, right?
My car’s battery died and I’m in the garage replacing it. Sweat drips down my back and sides and off the tip of my nose. Just another sunny day in paradise.
I’ll be glad to solve this problem and return to the cool comfort of my office. I will think of Willis Carrier and drink a toast to his memory.
Who Was Willis Carrier?
His boss sent him from Buffalo to Brooklyn to solve a problem. One of their clients was a print shop. They had a problem with humidity. It made the fresh-printed pages stick together and messed up their print jobs.
Willis’s job? He had to figure out how to solve that “sticky” problem.
I’ll bet you sit in a comfortable chair in a comfortable room as you read this. If so, you can thank Willis Carrier. He’s the guy who figured out how to solve the sticky-pages problem. His solution is what makes you comfortable right now: air conditioning.
Yep, that’s where the Carrier brand name started. Willis Carrier is the Henry Ford of air conditioning.
Willis didn’t intend set out to make our homes cool and comfortable. He set out to control humidity in a sticky Brooklyn print shop.
Lucky for us, his solution cooled the air as well. Willis Carrier went to Brooklyn to solve a printing problem. When he was done, he’d invented air conditioning.
Oh, and those other “problems that became solutions” I mentioned?
- penicillin
- microwave ovens
- Velcro
- Post-it Notes
- air conditioning
Exercise your magic powers
What problem in your life irritates you right now? Hold it firmly in your mind right now. You have emotions connected to this situation, right? Emotions that don’t feel good.
Now, here’s a perspective shift.
Without trying to figure out how this particular problem magically becomes a fantastic solution, answer this question:
How would you feel if you knew that this exact situation solved a huge problem?
Whatever that feeling is, indulge it now. Allow yourself to intensely enjoy that feeling. The situation hasn’t changed, but your emotion has.
Now that you’ve decoupled the emotion from the situation, your subconscious mind is free to find the “problem” that this situation solves.
Now forget about it.
When the time is right, the problem/solution will present itself to your conscious mind.
Drop me a note an share your experience with me.