If you want to solve a problem, DON’T think about it!
Written by Pamela Carvell, March 2018
I can’t remember where and when I first read those words, but I do recall thinking ‘how silly’! I’m sure like most of you reading this article, I thought that how you solved a problem was by thinking about it! Well, I investigated further. The premise is that if you know the solution to the problem you don’t need to think about it. And by thinking about it, you are constrained by what you already know. And what you already know, does not include the solution.
I am now a total believer in this concept, both in my personal and business life. But that begs the question of how do you then solve a problem if you aren’t going to think about it? I guess one option would be to chat to friends, family members or colleagues and let them come up with a solution for you. But in my experience, relying on others to solve problems for you is not usually the best way. Rather bounce off them your solution, when you have it.
Obviously, being a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, I don’t really buy into this concept of letting the Universe do things for you. But like so many things, if you believe in it and it works for you that is fine. I prefer to rely on the subconscious mind and the incredible strength and depth of resources that sit there.
To me the first step in solving a problem is to identify precisely what the problem is. Let me give you an example: someone says they don’t like their job, when what they really mean is they don’t like their boss, or they don’t like the hours they have to work. Another example I hear a lot is ‘I don’t like the way I look’. Does that mean you don’t like the way you dress? Does it mean you want to lose weight? Does it simply mean you haven’t had time to have your hair cut for a long time? Do you wish you were taller?
When you have identified the exact problem, write it down. It doesn’t matter if that is on your Ipad or on a huge sheet of paper in multi-coloured pens, as I tend to do. Once you have written it down, think carefully about how your life will be different when this problem has been solved. Imagine how your daily life will look & how you will feel. Sit and daydream for a while about this. Don’t think about how things are now and don’t worry about the solution to the problem, simply immerse yourself in thoughts about how your life will be once this problem has been solved & how you will feel. This process sends powerful messages to your subconscious mind.
Then, just put your note away, or close it down, and don’t think about it. The beauty is that your brain never stops working, even when you are asleep (or you’d be dead!). So your subconscious mind is like a massive computer full of files of all the things you’ve ever experienced, and most of which you have completely forgotten. There are millions of these, because it includes every TV programme you’ve ever watched, every person you’ve ever seen etc etc. Your subconscious mind is also a giant processor. So without you forcing it to, it will start going through these millions of experiences, and making sense of ways in which they can be combined to solve your problem. There are also those who believe, that because of the complex structure of the brain, it also stores those memories from our ancestors, from whom we get our DNA. That is potentially where the information comes from when people have regression therapy, and regress into former lives. To me that is not an indication that we are repeatedly re-incarnated, but that our subconscious mind has also stored experiences from our ancestors. But, that’s another article for another day!
The bottom line is that your mind is more powerful than anything man-made. Present it with a problem and it will solve it for you. You may need to revisit your sheet of paper at some point, and you may need to modify what the problem is, but at some point you will have a ‘Eureka’ moment and the solution to your problem will be so obvious to you, you won’t understand why you didn’t think of it before! It is the most wonderful feeling when something you weren’t thinking about flashes across your mind and presents you with the solution to a problem.
We could all do well to trust our subconscious mind more than we do, and in so doing trust ourselves. If you have faith in yourself, you will be amazed at your own potential and abilities.
Written by Pamela Carvell, March 2018
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