Problem solving: look at it in a different way
Problem solving should actually be very easy, but then, of course, there would be no problems. So how can this be done? In this blog I discuss ways to solve your problems
Way 1: Look at the problem from a different angle
You see a specific problem, such as a spider, because that’s where your focus is. For example, you no longer see the things around the spider—you only see the problem. By zooming out a little, you see more, and then the spider—the problem—becomes a lot smaller again.
When you were little you went to kindergarten. Then you'd come into the hallway and there were lots of hookers. You had to watch out for those so you wouldn't bump your head. Later - when you take your children to school - you have to watch out that your balls don't get stuck behind them (then you walk through the school in a very strange way, but okay). Those hooks will be at a completely different height in relation to your body.
Then you look differently and see different things. Other things catch your eye. You no longer have to look up at things. You can look straight ahead or down.
When you're little and a dog comes running at you, it's very different from when you're big. You may still be just as scared, but that is probably because you unconsciously still look at that dog at the height of your childhood. You do not know this then consciously, because you do this unconsciously. This is then because you have never learned to look at the problem, the scary dog, differently.
After all, you don't have to be afraid anymore. The dog is smaller than you are. This makes him less dangerous. If you are very small, of course, this is different.
If you also had a traumatic experience back then—such as being bitten—that fear will linger in your mind. You’ll have a trigger.
Then when something comes running toward you that even resembles a dog, it triggers all sorts of sensations. For example, this triggers the feeling of running away.
This too is not true, because it too is related to the way you look at it. You often look at it as if the previous experience at that moment is still true, when it is not. Despite having a different experience now, it is very difficult to look at it in a different way.
Way 2: Look at the solution strategies you already have
Sometimes you just forget things.
For example, I had a conversation with someone who found it difficult to motivate himself. The issue was finding the motivation to write an e-book. This was particularly interesting in this person’s case, because he had served in the military for years.
He felt he was not good enough and not worth it. So he avoided writing the e-book.
I asked if he had this on the mission as well. "No, of course not. Then I just did it." Then it made much more sense. He was good enough for the mission, though. So then if he looked at the e-book as a mission, could he accomplish that mission with a high probability of success?
"Yes of course man, I can see that route all mapped out," he said.
All that training, in his case for nine years, he had unconsciously jettisoned. He was now thinking from within himself, how to motivate himself. This while he had spent nine years motivated to pass missions.
Seeing his work as a mission dropped the penny and then he just started doing it.
Many things you have already learned. This is interesting. You've taken a lot of things from your past. You've learned many strategies, but you don't have to throw them away if they come from an unpleasant time.
Throw away that tedious time, but retain the strategy that will help you move forward. After all, then it won't all have been for nothing.
So you can see what things you can use from an old context in your current one. For example, mothers are often seen as good managers because leading a family can also be incredibly chaotic.
So you don't always have to make a change, you can look at things you have already learned that you can now use in a different way.
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Way 3: sleep on it overnight
Yes this is pretty general advice, but dreaming and even not dreaming is important for creative thinking. Research shows that dreaming helps you make new connections and thus get new ideas to solve a problem.
Dreamless sleep, sleep without REM sleep, allows you to make up rules from larger patterns in your life[1].
So whether or not you dream, it’s always helpful to get a good night’s sleep when trying to solve problems.
Way 4: conversational hypnosis
Conversational hypnosis is very similar to normal problem-solving therapy, but then you do it while in hypnosis.
In addition, you can reinforce this with affirmations that you also learn from Ericksonian techniques, such as:
"I can solve my own problems."
"I get to do it my way."
"My ideas are good." [2]
These are just examples. Depending on your problem and how you view it, you may get other suggestions from your hypnotherapist.
You can also get suggestions on how your unconscious is working to solve your problems, giving you more confidence that at some point you will know what to do. Such a solution thought can come out of nowhere, usually when you are walking or in the shower.
This may suggest such as:
"Your unconscious brain will deal with this problem after you leave here. You may or may not be aware of this, but the solution will reveal itself to your conscious unexpectedly."[3]
Way 5: Use hypnosis to convince adults of your solution
Sometimes you need to work with other people, mostly adults. There has been research on the use of hypnosis techniques in adult education because it is more difficult to teach adults than children.
So how do you solve this? Well, with hypnotic persuasion techniques and suggestions, teachers were able to teach adults better than without those hypnosis techniques. People became more cooperative with the lesson (with finding a solution) and the mood was more conversational[4].
For example, by using words like "we" and "our problem," people also identify the problem more as something in which they are also expected to have a solution, or at least to think about a solution.
In addition, there are many other hypnosis techniques you can use to solve problems with other people.
Way 6: Find out what caused the problem
Sometimes a problem is more of a symptom of another problem. For example, relationship issues caused by poor communication can be a symptom of “people-pleasing” behavior, which isn’t helpful. It may actually be a symptom of an inability to set healthy boundaries. These kinds of issues, in turn, stem from somewhere else.
Therefore, it is helpful to look beyond the problem and ask yourself how you got to that point.
Many problems stem from the beliefs you hold about life and how you function within it. People-pleasers, for example, are convinced that pleasing others is the way to receive love. As a result, they may push beyond their own boundaries, which ultimately creates a problem.
To identify problematic beliefs, you can use regression to search through your memories for the first moment a problem arose. This was the first moment you adjusted your behavior, and this behavior is still causing a problem today.
Next, you start doing something with that moment. You do this in your mind and with the help of a hypnotherapist. You can reinterpret the moment with your current knowledge and by empathizing with other people who were present at that moment.
This mental change alone can make you know what to do to solve the problem.
So there are easy and difficult ways to solve problems. First, try looking at the problem from a different angle. See if you can use elements in your life to solve this problem. Sleep on it overnight. Use conversational hypnosis or regression, and if you need to solve problems with other people you can use hypnosis to get them on board with the project.
Want to learn more about how hypnosis works for problem solving? Then come to the free online master class.
Or enroll directly in one of our training courses. Ideal if you want to help people with problems (or just yourself).
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364661318300706
[2] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.2018.1441802
[3] https://books.google.nl/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=oiUODAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA 77&dq=hypnosis+regression+for+problem+solving&ots=as6lA76iWR&sig=fAh-rO8C2HYisjMeqQggGtkj5GM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22problem%20solving%22%20&f=false (page 67)
[4] https://grdspublishing.org/index.php/people/article/view/1663