In the last two posts, I shared a couple of real-world examples of how reframing problems can lead to more effective solutions.

Now we’re going to start exploring why reframing works so well, and specific practices you can use to find better solutions to your own day-to-day business challenges.

But first, let’s take a step back and look at the default, reactive, and limiting approach that many people have to problem solving.

When you first become aware of an abstract or complex problem, you probably won’t see all the pieces of the puzzle right away, and will only have a relatively limited understanding of the situation.

That’s why abstract challenges can make us feel so uncomfortable. We don’t like the ambiguity and uncertainty of not knowing the answer.

Our first impulse might be to relieve that discomfort by trying to solve the problem as quickly as possible, clinging to solutions that feel most familiar based on our limited experience, beliefs, and biases. That limited definition of the problem then traps us within an even more limited set of possible solutions.

The narrower our initial frame of the problem, the lower the chance that we’ll come up with a truly effective and efficient solution.

So what’s the alternative? Slowing down long enough to explore the problem from multiple angles. But that means being able to lean into the discomfort of “not knowing.”

We’ll explore that more in tomorrow’s post. In the meantime…

What will you do today to start overriding your default, reactive, and limiting approach to solving problems?

Will you pay more attention to your emotional response when facing a complex problem, and consider whether your own discomfort with uncertainty is pushing you to jump into solution-mode too soon?