My Riffs

The best way is through it. Not around it.  We don’t need to look for troubles or difficulties, but the best way to deal with them is to meet them head on. Avoidance only makes them more difficult. Face them and deal with them quickly.  That’s the best way, through it. 

Presenting a problem is relatively easy. Most people can see a problem. But what does take a special skill is to present problems with solutions. Identifying a problem is important of course. But without a solution there's little benefit in identifying it. Solutions are next level. So learn to be a solution finder, not a problem finder.

So much of life is problem solving. There are always problems to solve for. Getting good at problem solving (which takes multiple different skillsets) helps us get better at living. At no point in life will we be problem free, so learning to solve problems makes life much more navigable.

Something I’ve noticed about anger is that it’s often misplaced. I can get mad at things, but the things I get mad at are often just symptoms not the real issue. We can use anger in a constructive fashion if we turn it into positive energy to address the root issue. If we are upset at a symptom, we can use that symptom to dig down and find the root cause. Once found we can use the negative anger and turn it into positive energy to address the root issue(s). 

You can reduce people into two categories but here goes :) There’s solutionists and problemists.  Solutionists find a solution to every problem. Problemists find a problem for every solution.

Appeasement is only a delay tactic. Appeasement isn't a true solution. If you're appeasing someone or something, know fully that you haven't put an end to the issue.

It's advantageous to confront things early. But you don't have to become a confrontational person to do that. With tact and wisdom you can learn to confront things and nip them in the bud. The long you leave issues, the bigger they will get. You don't want to be the person going around putting everyone in their place. That's not what this is about. But you do want to be the person managing your problems before they get too large.

You can’t bridge gaps is you’re constantly taking sides. Don’t feel forced to take a side on every issue. When you’ve taken a side it’s very hard to reach someone on the other side. 

I think complex problems require more complex fixes.  Simple problems usually require simple fixes.  Of course this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but I think it’s usually correct.  When you try to fix a complex problem with a simple solution it usually isn’t sufficient.  When you try and fix a simple problem with a complex solution you often end up creating a bigger problem.  The lesson? Spend lots of time fixing complex problems.  Don’t overcomplicate the fix to simple problems. 

Yes, knowledge is power. If you're looking to hire someone, you want someone who has the knowledge. But a skill even more valuable is someone who can figure things out on their own. Ones who can self teach and problem solve. You learn how to problem solve and you will have a skill that many don't.

The better way to resolve something is to start with what you have in common rather than your differences.

Humans are generally very creative. We're all inventors. We all invent different things. Some people invent systems and codes. Some people invent art. We have to be careful with our inventive natures. We can also invent completely fabricated memories. Or we can invent problems that don't really exist. The time to be grounded in reality is when we're inventing problems. The time to be freed from reality is when we're inventing solutions.

Sometimes in problem solving we can really become blinded. Very often in problem solving, the best solutions come from a different perspective or a paradigm shift. So taking a break from the problem (however that looks in a given circumstance) can actually be one of the most productive things to do. Another good thing is getting different perspective on the problem from trusted sources.

Plans go sideways, often and almost always. Plans are good and even necessary. But more importantly, what’s the plan when there’s no plan? That’s where instincts and preparation come into place. How well educated are you on the subject? How is your patience? How do you handle stress? A work emergency today has me considering these questions. We will see how it goes.

This is an interesting phrase. In it's purest form, it has nothing to do with status or position. Being a bigger person has to do with what level you are operating on. Being a bigger person means, refusing to operate on a level that includes pettiness. Being a bigger person does not mean, belittling someone because you're bigger. Being a bigger person means, operating in love. Operating in grace. Operating in generosity. Operating in kindness. Operating in deference. Operating in humility.

There is a profound lack of ownership in today's world. People don't want to own their own problems and issues. People don't want to own anything that is difficult or requires commitment or sacrifice. It's always someone else's fault, or some else's problem. But something profound happens what we take ownership of something. That being, we can then fix it or make it better. Until you take ownership of something, you are unable to affect it. As long as you refuse to take ownership of your problems and weaknesses you will never better them. It's powerful when you stop blaming circumstances and people for the problems in your life. Take ownership, then affect change.

The gap can often be bridged by some small things. A handshake, a meeting over coffee, a thoughtful card, a text message, and etc. If it doesn't complete the bridge, it can be the first section of the bridge.

Todays problem may be better than tomorrows'. If you're in a hurry to unload todays problem, you are only trading it for another problem. So stressing about today's problem isn't worth a whole lot of effort.

More and more we are seeing people becoming disillusioned. With everything from government, to politics and religion. There is for sure no shortage of options, and no shortage of disappointments in having such options. How do we prevent disillusionment? It seems to be an epidemic. Has the information age changed us so we no longer can hold something in good standing? Is everything a ploy or a conspiracy? The truth, as previously mentioned, is somewhere in the middle . Not everything is an evil plot. But nothing everything touted as idealistic is just that. Sifting through information, hype, jargon, propaganda become increasingly important. You can read and find whatever facts you wants. If you want to hold a position, you can likely find information to back up what you think. It's better to let the facts and truth define what you think. Be slow to judge, study, and learn to effectively parse information. Disillusionment seems to happen when we don't know what we...

Sometimes we search so hard trying to find the problem. We will blame circumstances, history and people so often. What’s strange is, we very rarely assign blame on ourselves. People generally act in a way that they feel is best, so assigning blame on oneself is a difficult task. We feel like if we’ve been acting in ways that are best, how could we do something “wrong”. But how often should we take a hard look in the mirror, trying to find some blame there? Problems generally have more than one factor. What role have we played in the problem? Or better, what could we have done to alleviate the problem? Finding the problem may be done best when starting from ourselves and working outward.