How To Solve Problems (4)

Fourth, evaluate the problem carefully and prayerfully. Here’s what King Solomon said about reacting impulsively instead of taking time to get all the facts. “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps”; “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13 NIV). When patients are in pain, they want quick relief. But the doctor knows that the pain must be diagnosed correctly in order to prescribe the right medication and make the patient whole. For you, that means asking yourself, “Who or what caused this problem? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Has it the potential to do real damage, or will I have forgotten about it this time next week?” If you don’t diagnose the problem correctly, you’ll have to go back and start over again, at which point the solution will probably be more painful and costly. Mike Leavitt, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, said, “There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve.” The key is to find the right time and be patient when implementing the solution. Inexperienced people expect problems to be settled instantly. But experienced people are like the master sculptor who keeps striking the marble block with steady blows of the hammer. Unlike the rookie who expects to split the stone with one blow, he knows if he just keeps working at it, he will eventually succeed.