The Problem with Talking About the Problem.

People were fidgeting. Fingers tapped the table. And if facial expressions could talk, they’d have said, “I’d chew my arm off to get out of here.”

Have you been in a meeting like that? It’s where people talk on and on about the “problem,” and that’s a problem.

A big one.

It’s especially tricky when you want a solution. So instead of fidgeting, finger tapping or risking an arm, when facing a problem, I remember P&P. It works like a charm. C’mon. I’ll explain.

1. Polarity. Have you heard the problem and the solution are the same thing? In Hermetic wisdom, a mixture of philosophy and esoteric wisdom dating back to 1300 AD, they are. It’s called the Principle of Polarity. The Principle suggests that two things, hot/cold, light/dark, east/west are in fact, the same, yet they differ in vibrational degree only. The teaching also instructs not to mix classifications because hot can never become east or light become cold etc. Doreen Virtue doctor of psychology and best-selling author uses a visual to illustrate the Principle of Polarity. Picture a pole with the problem at the bottom and the solution at the top. You cannot reach the top of the pole being anchored to the bottom aka, talking endlessly about the problem. Yes. Accurately diagnosing the problem is essential but camping at the bottom of the pole isn’t an effective solutions strategy. When exploring a problem, what’s your position on the pole?

2. Perspective. Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something vastly different. Watch CNN. Then watch FOX News. The reason? Eric Butterworth explains it with eloquence in Spiritual Economics, “You see things not as they are, but as you are. Your perception is shaped according to your previous experiences, according to your faith, according to where you are in consciousness.” You have your perspective and everyone else does too, about everything, including a problem. Let’s drop Butterworth’s quote into a real-life example. In front of seven million viewers, Jamie Siminoff, Founder of RING, failed to secure a deal with any of the Sharks on Shark Tank. Lack of funding for a business could pose a serious problem. Siminoff had a different perspective. Epilogue. RING went on to a one-billion-dollar acquisition. Obviously, there’s more detail to Siminoff’s RING story. But imagine if he thought the situation determined his destiny. POOF. The potential for Amazon’s one-billion-dollar acquisition, evaporates. Problem. Solution. Your perspective is everything.

You can talk about a problem. You can even think like everyone else thinks. But thinking for yourself, that’s your power because no one else is you. As for a problem, your pole position and perspective determine your trajectory going forward and what type of results you get. We know. Some people would rather talk, talk, talk about a problem, than solve it. How does that work? Then other people view a dilemma as an opportunity to upgrade their skill to mastery, and that’s a wonderful problem to have. (C) Paula M. Parker 2020 Originally published