Try Simple for a Start
If you have a problem, then one way to find a solution is to reduce it to its core. The idea is to simplify your problem so much that all that remains is its most abstract representation. One of the most famous abstractions is the equation E=MC². Five letters and numbers that revolutionized how we think about matter and energy.
If you take a way more mundane problem, for example money issues, then they are based on an equation that everyone knows. Your cash flow is determined by income minus expenses:
Income – Expenses = Cash Flow
So in order to increase your cash flow you either increase your income or lower your expenses or at best both. Great insight, huh? Well, that is where the actual problem solving starts. But sure enough there are numerous ways to achieve one or the other as long as we are willing to leave the treaded paths. The crucial point is the acceptance of the problem’s core simplicity. Yes, the problem is simple, which doesn’t mean its solution is necessarily easy to achieve. The path, nevertheless, is usually just as simple, as it is often quite obvious.
How often have you heard of a “complicated problem”? Whoever says that essentially wants to express the impossibility of solving such a problem, because the mere act of defining it already seems too difficult. Unconsciously we often find comfort in the idea of being up against something that is bigger than us, because that frees us from all responsibility and guilt. It’s complicated. *shrug* (more…)
