Today’s quote comes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: ‘Solving a problem means detaching yourself from the problem.’
The word problem only became popular in the 16th century. It comes from the Latin word problēma. It is an undecided, doubtful task presented for solution, a question of dispute and is borrowed from the Greek πρόβλημα ‘task, question’. It also means the topic is ‘questionable, doubtful, uncertain, undecided’ and therefore leads to pondering.
According to Goethe, a problem can only be solved if you distance yourself from the problem and no longer consider it centrally, but detach yourself from it.
That makes sense to me, because if you remain stuck in the problem, you start to brood and possibly look for blame, usually on yourself. This leads to thoughts such as:
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‘If I had behaved differently, would the problem not have occurred?’
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‘Why did this have to happen?’
You start to find a cause in the past that, if found, you can’t fix anyway. The past has been. It has led me to the present. Seeking the cause or the culprit, provided it’s not a criminal matter, seems pointless as it does not alter the current situation. So the best thing to do is to detach yourself from the problem and survive:
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‘What can I do now to build a sustainable and positive future from the present?’
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‘How can I enjoy the present despite the problem that needs to be solved?’
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‘How can I build oases in which the sun shines for me, despite the shadows or dark clouds of the problem?’
The beauty lies in the fact that shadows shift with the changing light, and clouds are dispersed by the wind. Rest assured, the world continues to transform, even as you only reflect.
On the other hand, it’s important to consider and reflect on the problem and its causes, without assigning blame. I can only change the problem in the long term if I am prepared to look clearly at my behaviour in the past, analyse it and consider what I would like to do differently in the future. In other words, ask the question
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‘What have I learnt that I would like to do differently now (in the present)?’
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‘How can I emerge stronger from the problem so that I can look back with pride?’
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‘What does the new, more developed me look like?’
Problems can be resolved by analyzing them objectively and drawing necessary conclusions for one’s behavior and attitudes. However, it is essential to then release the problem and concentrate on the present.
These three steps
1. recognise the problem
2. self-reflection and sober analysis of your own behaviour with the resulting maxim for change
3. let go of the problem so that it can be solved.
What do you think?
