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"We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them."
It's one of the most important quotes you'll ever read. And this blog post will teach you how to solve problems with new thinking and avoid them in the future.
In this blog post, you'll learn to see things from a different perspective and think differently about your situation. You'll know what Albert Einstein meant when he said, "we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." And then I'll share some simple ways for you to do just that! It may take practice, but it's worth it — anything is possible.
What Einstein said
A few years ago, I was on a very long flight. I watched 2-hour videos and listened to another 1.5 hours of radio. So the whole time, I decided to read a book called "How To Think Like Einstein." I remember being very excited.
The book was terrific! I changed my perspective on many things, and now I have this great life where I pick the right people to hang out with, do fun, exciting things every day, and have fun with my friends.
Most of the time, I forget what it's like to be on a difficult path with many challenges — but then something happens that reminds me.
A few months ago, one of my friends asked me to help hang out with her in New York City for two days because she was going to be in America for the first time in 3 years. She had no friends in New York and didn't know what to do on her own.
I was a bit busy, but I agreed because she's one of my best friends. I thought it would be fun, and she seemed excited. But then, after we decided, several things happened that made it not so convenient for me to come with her. It looked like I would need to move around some things to make it work out — but at the last minute, I decided I didn't want to go.
The next day, my good friend texted me but didn't call. When I called her back, she said that she had had a fantastic night out with a friend from Australia. She was so excited and still talking about this particular girl who is Australian and how much fun it was to hang out with her again.
It made me very sad because I wanted to go hang out with my friend — but now I felt even more like she hadn't done it for me. She had done it mainly for herself. Because this time, I felt like I wasn't the reason why we got together.
Did it make sense?
The point of this blog post isn't to get into the details of my situation. But I want to address what happened — and how you can apply the same learning to your challenges. Because it's not only challenging when nothing happens but also when something happens, having the opposite effect on us because we don't have a different perspective on how to think about our situation.
I always want to be the "sparkle in the room" to help others. But this story made me feel like a perfect candidate for not being the sparkle. Or at least, it didn't make sense that I was still trying to be the sparkle.
How can we do better?
I was thinking about all of this yesterday and came up with a few potential solutions. These were all great options for me, but maybe not for everyone. If you think about these ideas, you can imagine them working for other people, too — or even yourself!
How could I have made things better? Well.
Option 1
I could have decided that I didn't want to go hang out with my friend because it wasn't the right time for me. I could have said, "I'm sorry, but I can't come now. See you in a couple of months when I'm not working." That's a good option. It's easy and doesn't require any thought.
I would have just been able to hang out with my friend and have fun without any plans. But it would have meant I wasn't the sparkle and wasn't looking out for her needs.
Option 2
Or maybe I could take a step back, look at my life and see if there's a better way to move forward. I could say, "I want to hang out with my friend, but only if it's the right time for me." Then when she asks me what's up in a couple of months, I'll say, "I'm sorry, but this isn't the right time for me" — or even, "This is not what we originally started out doing. I'm not happy about it either."
I wouldn't be sparking a conversation about how I feel, but I would explain my situation and ensure we're both getting what we want from the relationship.
Option 3
Or I could even say, "Look at things from a different perspective. We can go hang out, but let's make it count. I'll spend all my time with you while we're there, and we'll do fun things that you like doing so much." That way, she would see me as the sparkle in the room again! And she'd feel very excited and happy to have me with her instead of looking forward to just having time on her own.
CONCLUSION
So the point of this post is to help you take another perspective on your situation. It's not always easy to change your mindset because it takes a few days or weeks of being in a new place and experiencing new things — but with practice each day, you'll be able to see things differently.
It is essential for more than just facing challenges — it's also necessary for building a life of happiness and success. Because success usually comes when we're willing to do what works for us — instead of doing what other people say will work for us.