Stop Fixing Problems

There’s a concept called “target focus.” It’s what happens when we notice something, anything. We’re drawn to it, even for a split second. That’s bad news for a race car driver who looks up at the wall. 

 

I’ve learned that to get out of a problem, you have to stop thinking about the problem and go bigger picture.

 

Now, there are a couple of steps to get to this bigger leap. First, a lesson from my trip to Jamaica a while back. I inquired about the “No Pro-blem” to every situation and was told, “You fix da ting, no pro-blem.” 

 

I get that – if you cut your finger, get a band aid. If you spilled something, clean it up.

 

That’s the first step because it is problem/fix focused. 

And, that’s not where your thinking should stop.

There’s a bike path on which bicyclists regularly become injured. It happens predictably. And it makes sense to move an ambulance or a medical station near the area where bicyclists become injured. They get injured, first aid is immediate. There’s a pot-hole in the bike path. It causes bicyclists to get hung up and flung from their bikes. The solution is to park an ambulance near the bike path. That fixes the issue because aid is immediate. They’re hurt, they’re fixed. Simple. 

 

That’s fallacy. And now you’re seeing the need for bigger-picture thinking. 

 

Think of a problem you’ve been wrestling with – a relationship, your financial status, an issue at work, whatever. Think of a problem and what you’re likely seeing is, in fact, a symptom. 

 

Back to target focus: We are drawn toward that which we dwell upon. If you focus on the problem, you won’t be able to see beyond it. Don’t just focus on fixing the problem. Focus on the bigger picture. What is it you want? NOT, what is it you don’t want.

 

I recently tweaked my back and my focus was to get out of pain until my focus shifted to overall health. I reminded myself what that looked and felt like. My focus shifted from “Wow, my back hurts and I want it to stop hurting” to “What does great health feel like? How do I get back to moving the way someone in great shape would move?” 

Cut your finger? Think overall health.

Paying a big bill? Think great wealth.

And so on!

 

So go on! Think bigger – at work, at home, in the world. If you’re focused on the problem instead of the outcome, you’re thinking too small.

 

Keep making your magic.

 

See you here next week!

 

= Wayne = 

Did you check out my Ask Me Anything “Mini Dr P” bot thing? It’s kind of cool. I uploaded a decade’s worth of my content, and now you can ask anything and get a response from my “mini me.” Check it out HERE!