Problem-solver’s mindset

The world we live in today, more than ever, needs more people to solve problems and possess critical thinking abilities. As technology advances, from the rise of wheels to Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing, the need for human effort is diminishing, posing threat to human control. This makes it crucial for us to improve the ways we approach problems, ensuring we stay safe and in control of coming inventions.

Life starts at age 7

Woke up as usual on a regular day at age 7, resuming my first official duty as a matured kid, my task was to rinse the dishes while my sister do the washing. This, reality was going to change the way I live my life unlike the other kids around.

I grew up picking clean plates from the sink instead of the regular baskets or plate racks. Being eidetic, I knew this was not right as I’ve visited many homes that wash dishes directly inside the sink stacking them into a basket or a plate rack. The curiosity in me was more than a dog desiring a bone, this lead me to know that my parents has locked the tap leading to the sink from the pipe control, turning the sink to a storage for cleaning dishes.

The thirst to solve this unpleasant culture lead me to experiment, I was set to wash the dishes from the sink, only to find it leaking, then I understood the root of the problem which led me to fixing the damaged pipe! Fixing the leaking sink subconsciously became my first experience with problem-solving, did I mentioned this accomplishment gave me motivation to fix the toilet flush, gradually turning me to a plumber kid 😂.

Events that shapes the mind

Just as I was honing my plumbing skills, my parents got a desktop computer and, soon after, a cellphone, one of the first in the neighborhood. I remember my mum hiding the mouse on several occasions, which led me to explore using the keyboard to maneuver my way around the PC. This curiosity significantly transformed my relationship with computers; it was a pleasant experience, except for the shutdown error message that pops up during power outages, which always found a way to get me into trouble when my parents returned before the power was restored.

Gradually people in the neighborhood began to acquire phones and other gadgets, knowing my expertise on fixing my parents’ devices, they find solace in entrusting theirs to my care when it develops a minor problem, this early exposure shaped me to become better at problem solving. I grew from being sort after to fix random issues on phones and PCs to buying the best gadgets for people who needed them, which made me loads of money as a teenager, this gradually shaped my mind to understanding the society, problems and solutions.

The Ideal problem-solver

You can make an impact in the society with these two guiding problems solving principles:

1. You cannot see a problem if you don’t have a potential in you to solve it, YES! you have the solution within you.

2. Every little problem you solve has a bigger picture in view, YES! there’s always a bigger application.

In my childhood plate wash story, did you wonder why my sister, who is four years older than I am, did not fix the sink even though she saw it every day too? This was simply because she never saw it as a problem; the drive to fix it wouldn’t arise. Therefore, she wouldn’t think of a solution, and this in no way means she hasn’t solved an ideal problem. This action is caused by cognitive diversity. Research has proven that human beings process things differently, having different perspectives based on our experiences, thought processes, and capabilities, which makes us see problems from different views. This means everyone has an ideal problem which they have the capacity to solve.

I remember nailing a job interview by imitating a method I used in a technical drawing exam during my secondary school days. I applied it in a similar way but with a bigger picture in view. This hack has always worked for me, and I will use it until God knows when. Feel free to use this hack: whenever you encounter a challenge, find a small problem from your archive of experiences that relates to your current situation and paint it as a bigger representation.

Conclusion

Problem-solving is not limited to any specific group of people. We all have the capacity to improve things we care about, making them even better than they used to be. We can also change things that are unpleasant to us because there is a solution within us that’s why we notice these issues.

Gather all your memories related to problem-solving, be proud of them, and prepare them for a bigger picture. Identify the important stages in your life where you have made crucial decisions that produced extraordinary results no matter how small, these moments set you up for bigger tasks. The more problems you solve, the better you become at solving more, we learn by doing, and this is no exception. You have all it takes to solve a problem, solve one today cause that’s what you’re made for, make the world a better place by solving your ideal problem.

Thank you for reading…