When COVID hit, I was disappointed with the solutions my professional organization came up with. Rather than seeing the promise in the problem, in my opinion, the organization identified a lot of band-aid solutions that mostly stopped the spread of the virus, but did not develop the organization in new and promising ways.
Personally, I felt that my family met COVID by seeking the promise in the problem. We found many positive ways to develop ourselves personally and collectively during that time despite the limitations at hand. As I've mentioned to many, I really wanted to take my class to a farm during COVID. I felt that would have given the children an ideal setting where they mostly learned outdoors in rich, valuable ways, but few to none were willing to entertain creative ideas, few to none were willing to see the promise in the problem COVID presented to schools.
When problems strike, I want to train myself to see the promise in the problem always. Rather than simply putting a band-aid on the problem or coming up with a short-term solution, I want to use the problem as a catalyst for betterment, the kind of betterment that is rich, transformative, and positive for the entire team.
As I think of a small problem in my midst, I can identify many paths to betterment the solution may bring. A good solution has the potential to strengthen our team, make people happy and provide a substantial model for solving problems like this in the future. That's much better than one band-aid after another that never really solves the problem, but instead creates a path of short-term solutions, but long term worry and despair.
Specifically, what does this "promise in the problem" solution include?
First, the long term solution updates the environment for greater happiness and health.
Next, the long term solution strengthens the sense of teamwork for this problem and others done the line.
And, the long term solution deepens our commitment to humanity including the care, empathy, compassion and commitment that goes along with that.
Overall the solution leads to a reasonable, effective, long-lasting model for care and compassion. This is much better than the temporary positivity that a band-aid approach brings with it.
In every problem lies a promise. If we can identify that promise and work for it, we will solve the problem at hand and better lives for today and into the future. Onward.