CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION

“Necessity,” they say, “is the mother of invention.” Needing to fix a problem, solve a distress, iron out a difficulty, come up with a new way of doing things—“necessity” awakens us and prepares us for figuring out how to change something that is currently not working or to put together a new approach that will make a positive difference. As you well also know, necessities are problems. That is, a problem, as the gap between where you are currently and where you want to be, refer to the things you need to change, to solve, to resolve, to correct. So, do you have any problems? I sure hope so!!

Problems come into being through the gap between now and the future. The larger the gap between now and one-day, the bigger the problem. The larger the gap between your perception and anticipation, the bigger your problem. A perfectly contented person sitting in yoga position, mediating on the absolute perfection of the moment, and humming “Ohmmmmm” has no problems. And, he or she also has no creativity. Because “problems” are a function of the mind, the contented person’s creation is already perfect. There’s no energy and so no now-future gap, no gap to drive one to find or create a solution.

Given all of that, who is primed for creativity? The discontented person! The discontented person with a problem on his or her hands. So what does creativity feel like? We often call the feel of creativity by such words as frustration, irritation, annoyance, disgruntedness, and restlessness. The discontented person is the person awakened to a vision of greater possibilities and who is thereby energized to take new creative ideas and experiment with them, try them out, put them to the test, fail gloriously, refine the ideas, gloriously fail some more, and passionately pursue the creativity until there’s a product or service to innovate into a given market. That person is primed for creativity! That is the person who feels a necessity. And we stand in awe of that person’s holy discontent driving him or her through all the constraints, problems, difficulties, and struggles.

There’s one thing that really distinguishes great creative geniuses—their joy and delight in the pursuit of problems. They love problems. They search for problems. And when a problem lands in their lap, they get passionate, turned-on, fascinated, curious, aroused, energized. How does that compare with your attitude? What’s your attitude toward problems? To what extent are you a problem-lover?

Of course, not all problems will do. There are lots of pseudo-problems—experiences that masquerade as problems, but are not real problems or significant problems. I’ve been noticing that creative problem-solvers, who change the world, are quite picky about problems—they search for and discover good problems. They search for problems that are significant, that are big, that are robust, that are solvable, and that are often mind-blowing. And usually they have to refine the problem to get it to a form where it’s a well-formed problem. This, indeed, is a skill in itself. In 2007 I began presenting the first Self-Actualization Workshop, The Ultimate Self- Actualization Workshop, and on Day 3 of that training I introduced a bit about “problems.” And when I did, several people objected to the term itself. “Don’t say ‘problem,’ say ‘opportunity.’” Others said, “When you use the word ‘problem,’ you are being negative.” Now while it’s true that our feelings are a function of our meanings (semantics), and that you may give the term “problem” negative meanings and so feel negative, my feeling is that problem is a great term. It’s one that I have personally come to really like.

What does the word problem mean? It is a Greek term that refers to something thrown (balleo) before (pro) you on your path. A problem is any obstacle that stands between you and your goal. In this, the term highlights the gap and interferences between where you are now and where you want to be—the now-future gap. As it spotlights the gap, it evokes your creative powers to solve it. “Solving” is meaningless unless tied to the “problem” that we need to solve, hence “problem- solving.” And if the problem isn’t a formulaic problem, one that’s so common and regular, that you can simply identify the solution formula, then you need creative problem-solving.

So, what obstacles are in your path? What obstacles do you need to deal with so you can move from your present state to your desired outcome? What solutions do you need to create that will address the problems?

In problem-solving analysis, we first need a well-formed statement of both the “problem” and the “outcome.” Once you create these two statements, your search turns to the required resources. Ah, resources! Problem-solving is a search for, accessing, and application of resources. Problem-solving is resource management. In problem-solving we search for strengths, skills, insights, best states, etc. In creative problem-solving we invent new connections and linkages between these resources and the gap of our hope and dreams for a new outcome state. What an adventure!

And this adventure is at the same time the structure of wealth creation. “Wealth” arises from creative problem-solving. What adds real value to yourself, others, life, business, relationships are new creative ideas that you translate (mind-to-muscle) into products and services. This is what creates new wealth. In fact, this is new wealth. Every year people are making millions and billions from such creative problem-solving solutions. Every year people are giving birth to new companies and new ways of doing things. Such creative problem-solving enables us to bring into being new solutions for healthy, well-being, connection, justice, democracy, etc.

Now you know why I love problems and why problem-solving, and especially creative problem- solving is how we use our innate potentials to actualize new possibilities. Ah, how we’re back to self-actualization again— creative self-actualization is problem-solving of human needs and wealth creation—the human adventure par excellence.