The Attitudes Towards Problems: Crisis and Problem Solving

“The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem”

- Captain Jack Sparrow.

When our attitude about the problem becomes part of the problem, the only appropriate step in the right direction is create a space for curiosity, understanding, imagination, and constructive disagreement.

Humans tend to gravitate towards a sense of closure and certainty. Put differently, we like easy answers to complex problems. This is especially true in time of heightened anxiety. When a society experiences a crisis that is accompanied by complex problems, there emerges a number of easy answers - stock arguments that are satisfying on some level but ultimately fail to penetrate the real complexities of the problem. Many of these easy answers resonate with each person’s already incomplete understanding of the world, leading to many disagreements. However, all such easy answers, relate to a sense of safety and belonging.

Opposite on the spectrum of closure and certainty are curiosity, imagination, and understanding. It takes time and effort to foster these qualities. It takes a non-anxious space. While our default state of low-energy equilibrium is confirm what we already believe, it takes energy and investment to be exploratory for new ideas. One cannot be exploratory and confirmatory at the same time.

When a society is confronted with complex issues, the path of least resistance is to take shelter in ready-made answers that seem to address some of our needs while, below the radar, neglect others. The result is disagreement, polarization, and a lack of traction. This result, from another perspective, is our attitudes about the problem becoming part of the problem. In that situation, the only solution, as far as I can tell, is to take an initiative to create a new space for exploration and constructive disagreement, one that fosters curiosity and imagination. This is appropriate because solutions to complex problems are often beyond our ready-made answers and our certainties.