Problems, they come in many forms. Some we can solve in our heads while others seem to drag us down. There has been plenty written about how to solve problems, here's what works for me that is a little bit different;
- Write it down - We must write something down to engage our subconscious brain, that person inside our heads we talk to all of the time . This stems from early days when we painted drawings on the cave wall.
- Look at the options - If you need to, write down the options and list the pros & cons of each solution. Again this supports our subconscious brain.
- Concentrate - Really engage your brain by thinking hard about your problem. When we do this we are telling our brain that this problem is important and you need to start working on it.
- Forget about it - This is the part of the exercise that most people don't tell you about. Several things happen when you take a break - Your brain relaxes, chemicals are released which assists with problem solving, you engage the creative part of your brain, and your subconscious keeps working on the problem while your conscious brain doesn't.
- Do something else - To make sure that you don't keep using your 'master' brain which will interfere with your subconscious brain, go and mow the lawns, vacuum the house, wash the car, anything to stop your conscious brain from working on the problem.
- Take a shower - Research tells us that the creative chemical I spoke of earlier is released when we have a shower. It is also the time that most of us relax, that's why we tend to sing in the shower. A lot of problems are also solved in the shower.
- Go to sleep - If the shower didn't work, go to sleep. Our subconscious keeps working when we are asleep, particularly during REM sleep when our brain 'defrags' the days events.
- It will come - The answer to your problem will come to you within 24 hours. If it doesn't, and it is rare that it doesn't work, go over the process again.
Happy problem solving!