This article originally appeared in The Simplifier #35.

Problem Solving vs. Solution Creation

By Shawn Tuttle

Imagine, it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon…the schedule looks clear and the river is calling. Yay! Where’s that tote bag?

Oh. Right. It’s in the closet. THAT closet. The one that’s been on your list for months to clean out. Thoughts of relaxation are slowly overtaken by feelings of guilt and duty. You actually have the time to deal with it—but wouldn’t an afternoon at the river be great…?

The real cost of the messy closet can include:

• money lost from buying items you already have but can’t find
• the heaviness and energy drained every time you think you should clean out the closet
• the wasted time digging and searching for things

Simple and effective changes
The way you talk about the messy closet is a reflection of how you think about it. Think about some of the ways you’ve talked about a persistent mess over time. Pushed off for months or years, an unfinished project can seem to take on monolithic proportions. “That closet is a disaster! It’s like it was hit by a tornado!” And of course the closet can be anything—your desk, email inbox, or filing cabinet, for example.

Your thoughts greatly affect how you deal with your life. This understanding is often overlooked, but it embodies a very effective strategy for simplifying from the inside out: your choice of words.

Let’s take a phrasing choice with big ramifications: problem solving vs. solution creation.

Problem Solving
Focusing on “problem solving” holds your attention on the problem (i.e., what you don’t want.)

Say for example your problem is a knot—a big, gnarly, messy, complicated knot that needs to be unraveled. Where is the impetus and inspiration to unravel this knot? For the sake of an unraveled knot?

This highlights the problem of focusing on the problem: namely, lack of motivation for wanting the situation cleared up. In other words, focusing on the problem fails to make you think about the benefits of having the mess straightened out—and organization for the sake of organization is not a strong motivator.

Solution Creation
On the other hand, focusing on solution creation puts your attention on the benefits of solving the problem.

The first time I introduced this in a workshop, one of the participants asked if she was missing something. “I want the closet organized—isn’t that the solution? Why isn’t it working?” The solution of an “organized closet” just wasn’t doing it for her.

Now we are getting to the real question: How does a messy closet truly affect my life?

When you focus on the solution, energy and thought goes into creating a situation that replaces the one which is cluttering your life. You have a better sense of the cost of the messy situation because now you are aware of what you aren’t getting.

The original target of the solution—an organized closet—often doesn’t provide the inspiration needed by most people to take action. This changes when we expand the scope of the solution. You begin to define the scope by asking questions such as:

• What would you rather be doing?
• How would you prefer to be spending your time?
• How can you work effectively and calmly?

Now, imagine yourself living your solution. Try to feel what it would be like to do what you want to do, have free time, and have your affairs easily taken care of.

Notice there is no mention here of the messy closet. When you focus on the solution, you will naturally be inspired to clear the way for your desired situation to grow. You’ll be driven to clear the obstacles obstructing the solution one by one, as your time and energy allow.

Another problem the workshop participant noticed was that she’d organize the closet but it never seemed to stay organized. Since you are creating this new situation for yourself, you’ll also affect your habit patterns, which will help keep the closet clean once it does get organized. (Yes, you’ll still get in there and clean out the closet—but it’s not like you are having to move a mountain…it’s just a simple road clearing.)

So what’s the biggest change you can make to replace problem solving with solution creation? Listen to your words. If you hear yourself say, “I’m such a mess!” or “I’m so disorganized!”, replace those thoughts with, “I’m creating calm and efficient work habits” or “I’m creating a smoothly flowing life.” Then stay the course with patience and perseverance. You’ll move mountains with ease.

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Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify