After hanging up the phone with a friend who is creating a new vision for her life, I was impressed with this quote from John Maxwell on searching for new solutions to old problems.

To make yourself a more solution-oriented team player…

  • Refuse to give up. Think about an impossible situation you and your teammates have all but given up overcoming. Now determine to not give up until you find a solution.
  • Refocus your thinking. No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. Set aside dedicated time to work on the problem. Make sure it’s prime think time, not leftover time when you are tied or distracted.
  • Rethink your strategy. Get out of the box of your typical thinking. Break a few rules. Brainstorm absurd ideas. Redefine the problem. Do whatever it takes to generate fresh ideas and approaches to the problem.
  • Repeat the process. If at first you don’t succeed in solving the problem, keep at it. If you do solve the problem, then repeat the process with another problem. Remember, your goal is to cultivate a solution-oriented attitude that you bring into play all the time.

–John Maxwell, Go for Gold