Problem Solving

Solving problems is woven into the fabric of this existence, and is part of His plan to draw us closer

Tim Frodsham 28 January 2021

A good friend of mine spent several hours fine tuning his lawn mower: looking at every aspect of the ignition and fuel system, cleaning or replacing most of these parts; and still, it would not start.  He finally gave up and told me that I could have the mower if I thought I could find the problem.  In my yard at home, I looked at the mower for a few minutes, put gas in it, mowed my lawn, and then offered to return it with a full tank.  We both laughed and he told me to keep it anyway; he had already bought a new one.  I used that mower for many years.

While working for Intel Corporation as a principal engineer, a large part of my job was to help other engineers with their technical problems.  On one of many occasions, I was added to an email chain that had been growing for more than three months.  Dozens of engineers were on the chain, with hundreds of pages of questions and responses.  After some fruitless reading, I scrolled endlessly to the very bottom of the chain and to the first email message where the engineer struggling with this technical dilemma had first described his problem.

Figuring I could help, I gave him a call.  The first fifteen minutes of the phone call were spent getting him to come up for air and describe to me the problem he was trying to solve.  He had been working on this issue for over three months, and like the lawn mower repair, he was buried in the details.  This is a common dilemma in solving problems.  We can get so wrapped up in the details that we lose sight of the big picture.  In trying to deal with the details, we forget the ultimate goal.

 Peeling back all the layers, we finally got to the crux of his problem, and he was able to describe to me what he was trying to solve and why.  I backed him up even further.  I needed to understand what he was trying to accomplish in his design and why this problem was in his way.  When I finally understood the ultimate goal of his design, a light donned, and I suggested to him an alternative approach.  

I proposed a way of getting his original task done without having to address this technical problem at all.  For the next ten minutes we hammered back and forth on this new solution, with him exclaiming every thirty seconds: “If I do it this way, my problem is solved! I’m done!” He had spent three months trying to solve a technical problem that he did not even have to address.  He needed to step back and looked more carefully at what he was actually trying to accomplish and explore alternate solutions.

A major facet of this earthly existence is to learn how to overcome challenges.  Whether they are engineering or social, work or family, we attack problems every day but give little thought of the best way to go about finding a solution.  First, what is the problem?  Many of us go too quickly to the first solution that occurs to us without understanding the real problem we want or need to solve.  Spend time considering the problem and its ramifications.

Communicate.  Talk to whomever else is involved in the problem, be it family members, coworkers, friends, or fellow church members.  Don’t just complain, but talk honestly and openly about the problem with a real, sincere interest in understanding the issues involved.

Next, start to consider solutions.  Make sure to spend adequate time here.  The tendency is to move too quickly to the first solution that pops into our heads without considering alternative and perhaps more viable options.

Once a course has been chosen, work the plan.  Don’t give up too quickly and dash off after alternatives that may pop up.  In most instances, the new solution seems to be “greener grass” because we have not yet considered all of the implications.

If it turns out that the solution we chose is really not viable, and that does happen, make the decision to abandon it and move on.  The fact that we have a lot of time, effort, and ego tied up in a pet solution can make this difficult; but like my fellow engineer, we should be willing and able to cut and run.

This is one of the most difficult aspects of problem solving.  It takes experience, wisdom and careful consideration to decide when to abandon a chosen solution: Too early, and we may have missed the right solution in pursuit of greener pastures.  Too late, and like my engineering friend, we have wasted time and effort burying ourselves in the details of a dead end path.

Finally, problem solving requires an abundance of trust.  

• Trust in our training and education that we can come to understand the problem correctly. 
• Trust in our coworkers, friends or fellow church members that they are trying to give us appropriate guidance.  Don’t be afraid, though, to seek clarity.
• Trust in our intuition, a secular expression for the Holy Spirit, to believe that we are approaching the problem correctly in determining the appropriate solution.
•  Trust that our work will be fruitful and that by working our chosen solution, we will solve the problem.  

A major facet of this earthly existence is to learn trust.  The veil is drawn and challenges are thrust into our paths to refine our ability to work with Him when we have no way of understanding the big picture.  Our very existence is designed by our Creator to develop faith in ourselves and to trust in His plan that by working through the challenges and problems of this life, we draw closer to Him.

The essence of this life is learning to be like God, inheriting all that God has, and all that God is.  He is the Master Creator.  He is the master problem solver.  His knowledge, His wisdom, His power, His glory, His compassion, and His love surpass all finite understanding.  Learning to be like him involves learning how to solve the myriad of problems woven into the fabric of this mortal existence.  Without issues, without trials, without opposition, we would not and cannot learn to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to feel His direction, His sympathy, His understanding as we reach through the veil for His guidance and direction.

Copyright 2021, Tim Frodsham, latterdaysaints.life