Effective Problem Solving: 5 Steps to Analyze, Brainstorm, and Implement Solutions

Intelligence is the capacity to learn, adapt, and understand oneself. Problem-solving involves 5 steps: identify the problem, analyze it, brainstorm solutions, evaluate and select options, and implement the solution. Celebrate your success and learn from the experience. You are not a problem to be solved, but a perfect spirit in a human body.

Welcome to Authentic Living with Linda
I’m Linda Codlin

Welcome, My Friends.

This week has moved along so quickly, I completely missed my blog writing date.
So here I am, on a Saturday, at almost midnight, putting my thoughts on the page.

The month of June was about intellectuality, or intelligence.
At the beginning of every lunar cycle I take some time to decide what I want to see happen for the lunar month ahead.
As this month was about intelligence, I decided to look into what intelligence is all about.
You see, as a young person I didn’t believe I was very smart.
I loved school and I loved studying, I still do.
What I didn’t realise about intellect was that it’s not about what we know, it’s about how well we know ourselves.
We all learn in different ways, and as you get to know yourself, you also work out your intelligent way of moving through this world.

What is intelligence?

For the month of June I chose my definition to mean understanding.
I would need understanding to solve complex problems.
I would need understanding to make decisions that benefit my life in the short term and in the far reaching distance of my life.

Intelligence means.

Intelligence means having the mental capacity to learn, to adapt, to understand and to handle abstract concepts.
It also includes being able to use these capabilities to manipulate your environment.
To generate change by reasoned thoughts which lead to deliberately calculated actions.

Intelligent problem solving.

Do you have a problem that you are currently working through?
Be honest, we all have something sitting in the background nagging at us.
It might be doing a digital declutter, which as it happens is this months goal for me to accomplish.
It might be you have a project that needs to be completed by the end of the month, and you’re not sure where exactly to start.
It might be you have the neighbours cat coming into the house during the night and eating all your pets food.
It might be losing weight, and regaining your equalibrium around food and your emotions.
It might be around your finances, you might be feeling overwhelmed by your money inconsistencies.
What ever it is, there is a way to solve your problem.

You can’t solve a problem, you’re not willing to have.
Honesty with yourself is vital. What is your ground zero? Where are you at?
Are you drowning in a certain problem, a particular situation or a reoccuring thought pattern that has you acting in ways you don’t want to.

5 Steps to Solve any problem.

Step 1. Identify the problem.
What exactly is going on?
If it’s financial, get out all your receipts and bank statements and figure out your numbers, write out where your money goes, where it comes from.
What exactly is happening with your bank account?
If it’s a project that needs completing, identify what the goal of the project is, write down the steps that have to happen to get to the goal.
And if it’s not really the project that you’re stuck on, get honest around what is really going on. Why don’t you want to complete, or start the project?
What are you really afraid of?
Define the problem, define the end result you want to see.

Step 2. Analyze the problem.
Look at the problem, step back and look at it from a different perspective.
Imagine you have your hero sitting at the table with you. They have overcome many trials, and solved many problems, ask them for their take on your problem, see it with a different lens.
Gather all the information you might require. Be aware of the research trap, put a time limit on the amount of research you will do.
For your finances, gather all the data, the receipts, the statements, bills, credit card statements, all the unopened envelopes that hold requests for money.
It is important to get all the facts, not the emotional feelings about the problem.
Now is the time to silence your story for a moment while you gather all the facts and important details of the problem.
Remember to include anyone else who has a vested interest in the outcome of this problem being solved.
Also check in with your body, how are you feeling? How tense are you on the 1-10 scale? Note this down, it is valuable information.

Step 3. Brainstorm possible and impossible solutions.
This step is part of the fun of creating something new, a solution to a problem is an new way of seeing a solution.
You can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it, you have to shift your perspective.
In this brainstorming session you get to come up with as many ways as you can think of to get the outcome you want.
Write down all the outlandish ideas, all the ideas that seem impossible.
Remember we are working with an energy world, everything is created twice, once in thought or energy, the second is in reality.
With your brainstorming, you are setting the energy world in motion, you are setting the scene for synchronicities to happen.
The impossible becomes the possible when it is done, how do you know what is impossible.
The impossible could be a block in thinking, it could be one person away from a solution, it could be the next uplevel of development.
Brainstorm all the possibilities and the impossibilities without judgment. Get creative, get whimsical, get practical, get real, get it all on paper so you can see them objectively.

Step 4. Evaluate and select options.
Give yourself time between brainstorming and evaluating your options.
You want to allow your subconscious mind and the energy world time to bring things together, to make connections that weren’t obvious before.
Some of the best ideas come when you are doing something else, like fishing, or cycling, or baking.
Your brain is in relaxation mode, your body is engaged in an activity you enjoy and find relaxing, then the ideas that you have written have the opportunity to bubble away without you consciously thinking or worrying about a solution.
Once you have given yourself time, assess all the pros and cons of each idea.
Write two lists, one with the things that could work, and one with the things that may not work.
Expand these lists, breaking the solution down into the smallest parts, gain as much clarity as you can around each step needed for the solution to work.
Where are the bottlenecks?
What is stopping this from being solved easily and effortlessly?
What one thing would make the biggest difference in removing this problem?
Then make a decision, back yourself, once the decision is made, close the door to all other avenues for now.

Step 5. Implement the solution.
Develop an action plan, create clarity, create small steps that are easy to follow, break the solution down to it’s most basic points.
Then begin to action these points. Your brain loves clarity, it knows exactly what is expected of it and it will work with you to achieve the outcome you want.
Now is the time to set deadlines, to hire contractors, to get all the resources you will need together to make the process easy.
It is also the time to back yourself, to believe you can implement the solution you have chosen.
To manage your mindset, to manage your time by putting the actions required in your diary, give them a time and space to become reality.
Also remember to keep your mind on your end goal, the solution of the problem.
Monitor your progress, so your solution doesn’t get bogged down anywhere on it journey to being solved.
If it does get held up, go back to the brainstorming table to see what is really going on. Who, what, where or how is creating the hold up.

Bonus step 6. Celebrate, when the problem is solved.
This is often the step that gets missed.
It’s the step where you get to acknowledge the work you have done, the team who helped you achieve your goal.
It’s also where you get to look back and review how it all went.
What went well that you can take into the next problem solving arena?
What didn’t work so well and needs tweaking or refining so you can have a smoother ride when you are working on the next problem?
Always give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.
Giving yourself credit, is important to build these skills and to build your confidence to keep on moving through the situations life sends our way.
You build resilience and trust in yourself as you take these opportunities to stretch yourself.

And by the way, you are not a problem to be solved.
You are a perfect spirit being in a human body, having a human experience.
Lets make it the best experience you can.

Until next time: Select one problem you have been putting off and try these 5-6 steps to solve it.
Message me at lindacodlin25 and let me know how you got on.

oxoxo Linda.

As a certified Life Coach, I help you to help yourself, so you can create a well lived life your way. 

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