Problem Solving

You come across problems every day.  Sometimes they seem to be easy and at other times your day seems to be full of nothing else but problems!

 

 

 

What Can You Solve?

Some people find it easy to ignore problems, hoping that they’ll fix themselves somehow.  Other people try to solve every problem they see, whether it is their business or not!  Whatever type you are, it’s important to know which problems you can (or should) solve.  What you try to do is up to you, but here are some tips for choosing which ‘battles’ to fight and which ones to leave alone.

·         If the problem is yours and yours alone, the first question you should ask yourself is ‘Can I solve this problem myself?’  It’s not good making everyone else fight your battles for you if you can do it.

·         If you know you can’t deal with a problem yourself, don’t try and take it on alone.  Get help from people you know and trust.

·         If the problem is someone else’s, before you try and solve it for them, think a bit and ask them if they want help!  They may not want you to solve their problem, it might be better if they solve it themselves or it might even be none of your business!

·         There are little problems and there are BIG problems!  If you are concerned about the state of the environment for example, there is no way you can solve it by yourself, but you can do things to help your local area.  Every little bit helps - and you should feel happy for achieving what you can.

 

 

Problem Solving Steps

Most problems can be solved using the same basic steps.

 

What Is The Problem?

Funnily enough, this is a question that is sometimes hard to ask.  To put it simply, a problem is a situation or something that you’re not happy with.  So the questions you need to ask yourself are:

·         What is my current situation?

·         How would I like things to be?

 

 

What Caused The Problem?

Finding out what caused the problem can be really important in helping you solve it.  This is something you need to be really honest with.  If you’re the cause of the problem you need to say so.  It’s not a time to be blaming other people and being nasty (if the problem is to do with other people).  You need to ask yourself:

·         Does knowing what caused the problem help me solve it?

·         How does it help me solve my problem?

·         Are there more causes other than the ones I’ve thought of?

 

Think of Ways To Solve The Problem

If it’s possible, this is a good time to have other people with you to help with this stage.  Think of as many different ways to solve the problem as you can.  Don’t worry if they sound silly.  Sometimes the silly suggestions can help you think of better ones.  Write all your ideas down (this is a step called ‘brainstorming’).

 

 

Pick A Way To Solve It

When you choose the best plan from what you’ve brainstormed you should think of these things:

·         Which idea will solve the problem in the best way (not necessarily the quickest way)?

·         Which idea can you do for real?

o       Can you actually do it?

o       Do you have everything you need for it?

·         Is your idea risky?

o       If it is, are you happy with the risk?

o       Can you afford to lose?

 

Make An Action Plan

It’s time to take the plan that you chose and break it down into steps for you to achieve.  Use these questions to help you make your plan:

·         What do you need to make your plan happen?

·         Do you need anybody else to help you?

·         Do you need any equipment?

·         Do you need to work out what you have to say?

·         How much time do you need to do it?

·         What things will happen to tell you that it’s going well?

 

 

Do It.

You’ve got your problem.  You’ve got your plan.  Now you do it!  Ask yourself:

·         Is every step going the way I expected it to go?

·         Are things happening on time?

 

 

Check To See If It Worked.

If things are going wrong:

·         Why is it happening?

·         Was the plan a good one?

·         Should the plan be stopped?

·         Should a new plan be made?

 

 

Skilful Teamwork

There are always times where you end up having to work with other people to get a job done.  They may be your friends, people in your class, people you play sport with or even people you don’t know that well.  Even though you may want to work with your friends all the time it won’t always be that way.  What’s important to know is that it doesn’t matter whether the people in your team are your friends or not, to work in a team successfully you have to follow a few rules.

 

Teamwork Tips

Teamwork and problem solving go hand in hand.  Here’s what you have to do to work well as a team. 

 

Participate

Everyone in your team should contribute towards solving the problem.  That includes you.  Just sitting back and letting everyone do it all for you is not a good idea.  Make sure you’re getting in there and helping everyone achieve their goal.

 

Share

Participating is good, but taking over or keeping things to yourself isn’t.  You may think you are able to get the whole job done by yourself, however, other people will have suggestions and skills that you may not have thought of.  That’s the point of working as a team.  Make sure you share your ideas and tasks around and that other people do so too.  That way, it will be easier to get them done.

 

 

Listen

Listening is part of the sharing process of teamwork.  Everyone should have a say and let the team know what ideas they have.  It’s important to listen to everyone’s ideas and then use those ideas to help get new ideas.  Even the simplest idea from the quietest team member may be just enough to help get the job done quicker, so it’s important to listen.

 

Question

Try to ask questions in your group that help solve the problem and move things forward.  Questions like ‘What do we need to achieve?’, ‘Is there any way we can break this big problem into smaller easier tasks that we can share?’ and ‘Are there any better ways we can think of to solve this problem?’ can help people think more clearly and focus on the task without you taking over.

 

Persuade

With any group, there will be people who have different ideas and points of view than you.  That’s okay, but remember that your ideas are important too.  Make sure you explain and defend your point of view clearly and calmly.  That way you can be sure that, even if the group doesn’t use your ideas, you have contributed to solving the problem.

 

 

Respect

Not everyone will have your point of view and it’s important to respect that.  As long as everyone is working together to solve the problem, all ideas and suggestions should be accepted, encouraged and taken seriously.  If you respect what other people have to say, others should respect your ideas, even if they clash.  The team should have the final say on whose idea is the one to use.

 

 

Coping

Lots of things happen in life where you have little or no control.  It happens to everyone and is just a part of life.  Here are some tips on how to cope with some of the things that can happen to people.

 

Coping With A New School

A new school can be a grand adventure or something you dread, depending on how you look at it.  And it does depend on how YOU look at it.  For tips on how to make the prospect of a new school less of a problem, read on.

·         Visit Before You Start - People often fear what they don’t know.  Go with your parents to your school before you start and have a look around.  You may be able to get your teacher or principal to show you around.

·         Keep In Contact With Old Friends - If you have moved a short way from your old school, it shouldn’t be hard to keep up with the friends that live near you.  If you’re a long way from your old school, letters or emails may be the key!  (Don’t forget you’ll have lots of new friends though!J)

·         Not Everything Will Change - It’s only the school that is changing, not you!  There will probably be people around you that are into the same things as you.  They shouldn’t be too hard to find either.  The more people you meet with your interests, the better you’ll feel about your new school.

 

 

Coping With Puberty (repeat of 3.3.6)

Puberty can be a pretty rough time to go through for some people.  Here are some suggestions on how to survive:

 

• Talk to people - Every adult has gone through puberty.  If you are unsure or you’re feeling down about something, talk to an adult you can trust, such as your parents (though this can be hard for some people), doctor, teacher, coach, school counsellor or adult friend.  Even if they don’t have the answers you need, they may be able to help you find it.  You don’t have to go through it alone!
• Look it up - there are many books and sites available on the topic of puberty.  Go to a bookstore, library, trusted website or medical centre and read up!
• Look after yourself - During puberty, when your body is a mass of conflicting chemical changes, the last thing you should do is add more chemicals to the mix!  Avoid drugs such as tobacco, alcohol and other ‘hard’ drugs that will harm your body.  Eat a well-balanced diet (if you MUST be on a diet don’t cut food, just eat more nutritious foods) and get plenty of exercise.
• Accept the changes - If reading all of this tells you anything, it’s that there is going to be a LOT of changes on the way to becoming an adult physically and emotionally.  Being happy with who you are and how you look is the key.  People may develop earlier or later than you, but eventually it all evens out so DON’T WORRY.

 

 

Coping With Changing Friends

As people get older and their interests, beliefs and feelings change, their friendships can change too.  You may find that you’re becoming more interested in sports, while your friends are moving more towards reading and music.  While this doesn’t mean that they can’t still be your friends, it can make things difficult to keep in touch with each other.

 

From here you can go a number of ways.  The best way is to stay friends, but just be the sort of friends that don’t see each other often.  It can mean that you have lots to talk about when you do get together.  You could both try out the new things that each of you are doing (it certainly doesn’t hurt to try out something new). These ways are good if you accept the changes that both of you are going through.  However if you don’t (say they’re turning into the sort of person that gets themselves - and their friends - into trouble) it may be time to let go and meet new people.

 

 

Coping With Divorce

Divorce can be a very upsetting time and often a major change in lifestyle for any young person involved.  Here are some important things to remember if you, or someone you know, has parents who have divorced.

·         You’re Not Alone - Statistics for the UK, USA and Australia suggest that 40 to 50 percent of marriages in these countries end in divorce.  There are people out there who have shared your experiences.

·         It’s Not Your Fault - Parents divorce each other because they can no longer live together.  It’s their decision based on their feelings.  It’s nothing you could have stopped, and you certainly didn’t cause it yourself.  Your parents are divorcing each other, not you.

·         People Can Help - If you can, talk to both of your parents about your feelings about what’s going on.  If it’s easier, talk to an adult not involved in the divorce if you want to talk about things to someone who won’t take sides.  This could be someone like a counsellor, church leader, teacher or an adult you know and trust.

 

 

Coping When Someone Dies

Whether it was a close family member or someone you knew at school, it can be a terrible time when someone you know has died.  You’ll probably experience grief (sorrow or pain) and an overwhelming sense of loss.  The most important thing to remember is that these feelings happen to everyone and there are ways to deal with what you are going through.  Here are some suggestions:

 

 

Being There

Avoiding the issue doesn’t help.  It may help a little at the time but ignoring the fact that someone you know has died will only make things worse later on.  Be with friends and family who knew the person who has died, attend the funeral or visit the gravesite of the person.  Doing things that help you recognise the fact that this person has died is definitely a step in the right direction.

 

Show your feelings

Though this is hard for some people, it’s an important and helpful way to deal with all the emotions within you.  You can let your emotions out by crying (a really good way to let go), talking or expressing yourself creatively through art, music or writing.  Whatever it is you do is better than ‘bottling it up’ and will help you though the grieving process.

 

Doing something active like running or kicking a football around is good too, but some people can go too far with this and try to do something that will hurt themselves or others.  If this is the case with you or someone you know make sure you talk to someone who can help.

 

 

Talk

Talking about what has happened is one of the best ways of dealing with a death.  You’ll feel a lot better if you share your feelings with friends or adults you can trust, such as parents, teachers, counsellors or religious leaders. 

 

Also, many areas have support groups to help people.  Counsellors are trained especially to help people who are suffering from grief or depression.  Check out your local area for more details.

 

 

Moving On

It’s a hard thing to do, and everyone does it in their own time.  Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting the person you have lost.  It means getting back to your life and enjoying yourself again, while still remembering the past.  If you have worked through your feelings, you should find that, as the saying goes, time heals all wounds.

 

Going For Goals

Whether it’s at school or in the playing field, it’s always good to develop your skills and aim to be the best you can be.  Here are some of the best ways you can improve the skills you have and set your sights towards building up new ones.

 

Practice

Practice makes perfect so they say (do you ever wonder who ‘they’ are that say all of these thingsJ).  To keep the skills that you do have at their peak you have to find regular time to practice them or they’re easily forgotten.  Also, practicing your skills can help to develop new ones because you have opportunities to push your understanding of the skill you’re practicing.

 

 

Peer Tutoring

Getting a peer (someone about your age) who knows the skill you want to teach you is a very good way to learn new things.  Being around the same age means that they can teach you the skill in a way you understand.  They may pass on tricks that they used to learn the skill you want.  Also, learning from a friend is fun!

 

 

Goal Setting

There is no point trying to learn a new skill if you don’t have some kind of a goal.  Setting big goals like ‘I want to play soccer for my area’ or ‘I want to really understand this software program’ are good, but think of ways to break those down into smaller goals to make them achievable. For example, ‘In the next week or two I’ll learn how to kick that soccer pass I’ve always wanted to do’ or ‘Today I’ll work out that new function on the computer’ are examples of short term goals that can help reach those long term goals mentioned before.

 

                 

 

Seek Specialists

Sometimes it’s too difficult to learn a new skill by yourself.  In this case you need to find someone to teach you that skill.  Coaches, tutors, teachers and other specialists are there to help you achieve your goals.  They’ll help you achieve your goals and stop you from learning any bad habits that you may have learnt if you taught yourself.