There are problems that have simple solutions and solving them are rather quick. But then there are problems that don’t have simple solutions and seem daunting. Have you ever faced those? Those problems where you know they have to be dealt with, but you much rather deal with the easier problems first thus pushing the intimidating problem off over and over again. Eventually you avoid the problem altogether or you’re stuck in fear of not knowing how to deal with the problem.
I’ve faced many of these daunting tasks. A lot of times in my work place, many times in working on projects or personal goals. In the work place, I bite my lip, figuritively bang my head on the keyboard and churn hours in trying to solve the problem. With my personal projects and goals, I’ve often allowed the fear of facing the problem lead to giving up on the project or goal altogether.
Eventually, I got tired of running away from these intimidating problems and made a stance to face and solve them. One way I’m learning to face these, big, bad problems is to cut them down to size. I’m learning to hack these problems down over and over again until the problem is a bunch of tiny, not so scary, problems.
After cutting the big problem down to tiny problems, I then start attacking the tiny problems and eventually when all the tiny problems are solved, the result is that the original, big problem also gets solved.
So the next time you find yourself stuck in your tracks facing a big, nasty problem, smash it into tiny pieces. So tiny that, you can’t fail at solving or completing them. In solving these tinier problems it helps you build momentum until you solve the original problem.
Have fun smashing problems!