Creative Problem Solving

GOT A PROBLEM?
Do you have a problem?
Does it seem like it just won't go away?
Perhaps a little more creativity is all that is needed.
Let me explain.
Thomas Edison has been credited with inventing the first half of the twentieth century. And certainly one of his greatest inventions was the incandescent electric light bulb.
But Edison takes no credit for making the light bulb available to the world.
He was simply an inventor. Edison's bulb did not burn for long; it gave off little light and it was too expensive.
A man named William David Coolidge spent seven years improving the light bulb to make it more practical. Largely because of his work, electric light eventually came into common use. When Coolidge finally succeeded in his efforts, he was questioned about how he was able to make tungsten work. He said, "It was because I was not a metallurgist. Had I been a metallurgist, I would have known that the task was impossible."
Henry Ford, too, built his success largely on his ability to "think outside the box." He used to say that he was looking to employ a lot of people "who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done."
Sometimes, unconventional thinking and a belief that anything is possible are required to solve problems.
You may not be setting out to build a huge company or market a new invention, but you still face difficult problems that beg for creativity.
Perhaps you are worried about financing an education.
Or you are caring for a loved one with a long-term illness.
Or maybe you simply cannot seem to get along with that difficult person you work alongside everyday.
These problems, and countless others, just don't seem to go away.
Most of us struggle with similar "impossible"situations. If your problem seems impossible, then your usual thinking is probably not working.
How can you look at your situation differently?
Who can help you consider other solutions and will never tell you that it can't be done?
And most important, what would you do if you believed that anything were possible?
Anything!
You may not have succeeded yet because you have become discouraged searching for a solution to your problem.
Or perhaps you are not convinced that an answer can be found, somehow...somewhere.
But a creative and wonderful solution might be just ahead.
Look in a different direction. Find it!
You can if you believe it is there and if you believe it can be found.
Today, what would happen if you approached your problem in a new way?
Do you want to find out?
-- Steve Goodier

Thanks to Steve Goodier - re-posted from http://www.lifesupportsysem.com/