The right approach
Keep going until you find it.
A friend of mine recently quit smoking. She was a heavy smoker.
Before she could stop, she’d tried everything; quitting cold turkey several times, nicotine patches, hypnosis, and therapy. Nothing worked.
Until one day, she went to see a Chinese doctor.
He did acupuncture (tiny needles on specific points of the body) on her and within two sessions, she was cured. No more desire to smoke whatsoever. She was dumbfounded.
My dad who smoked two packs a day for 40 years had tried everything for years, but nothing worked.
Until he went cold turkey. And hasn’t smoked since.
Notice how they both tried similar things, but in the end, what worked was different for each.
They tried different approaches until they found the right approach.
Different problems call for different solutions. Different situations require different attitudes. (Different cultures require different behaviors.)
And sometimes the right solution will seem completely crazy, out there and plain dumb.
The idea that there is a universal cure to all problems is embedded in our modern view of the world.
We see it in our economies, health systems, our education, bureaucratic organizations, and institutions.
Sometimes there can be a cure-all solution, but that’s the exception to the rule.
When you are faced with a problem, try a lot of different solutions.
Try everything. Give it a real shot, not just a shallow attempt.
Keep trying until you find one that works. You’ll know when you found it.
Other examples of problems that couldn’t be solved until the right solution was found:
- Cutting healthy individuals’ skin to put in smallpox pustules and immunize them from the disease for a lifetime. Also know as the grandmother procedure of vaccination.
- The mailman delivering a massive stack of printed ads to your mailbox until the day you put a sticker that said: « No ads please ».
