Who doesn’t have problems? Dead people, of course.

That’s a reality that’s easily admittable; here’s something that’s not: our part in the problem.

The Grasshopper came out of his New Year’s slumber and offered this: “If you don’t own the problem, you’ll find it difficult to find a solution.”

Owning the problem is acknowledging our part in it. I’m reminded of an episode of the 70s TV show Happy Days when character, Arthur Fonzarelli (The Fonz) had trouble admitting he was wrong. He knew he was culpable in the situation but had trouble getting the words “I’m wrong” to form in his mouth.

That’s the biggest hurdle in problem solving – admitting that we may be part of the problem. That’s because no one wants to be wrong. This hesitancy to own up is a delaying tactic that keeps a solution down.

When the focus continues to claim responsibility is “out there,” the solution remains out there as well.

Yes, there are some unfortunate things that happened that we had nothing to do with – let’s call them “acts of god.” But we claim “godliness” far too often when we’re part of the devil in the details.

Owning a problem facilitates a faster solution. When we don’t look in our direction too, we ignore an angle of approach that could hold the key to our solution.

“Own up” is easy to say and hard to do due to our cultural conditioning that being wrong is a deadly disease. It’s not. It’s a shortcut to a solution.

If you’re hellbent on keeping your problems in place, just continue to pretend that you had nothing to do with them. Then if you want to keep them in place even longer, go find some people who agree with you and you can talk forever about the bastards out there rather than looking “in here” for a solution.

We are part of the problem. The sooner we recognize that, the sooner we can put all our energy into finding a solution.

I’ll end with a quote from author Susan DelGatto: “If you choose to not deal with an issue, then you give up your right of control over the issue and it will select the path of least resistance.”

All the best,

John