How can we solve our problems?
"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." - Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being
As humans, one of our unique advantages is our ability to create a full breadth and depth of tools that allow us to take on life's biggest challenges. This article will attempt to show the relevance of these devices that are adapted to solve a specific problem or overcome a particular challenge. The sword will be examined as an example, which does not get enough credit in its design or facility in the formation of our society. The latter part of the article will delineate a personal anecdote illustrating how I've used tools in my life that I've picked up along the way. Finally, there will be a discussion surrounding the Hero's Journey and how that can apply to your life.
The Purpose of Tools
To begin to understand the importance of tools, we must take a brief look at this thing that we call life. Jordan Peterson proposes that life is a domain for action, filled with objects. These objects are tools, or they can be transformed into such. These tools range from language to a stone hammer. They help us change the world, generally speaking from chaos into order or problems into solutions. Because life is imbued with disorder naturally, we will be faced with a never-ending set of issues or challenges because we are.
Luckily for us, we can face these challenges with our ability to fashion an array of problem-solving devices and strategies better known as tools. Each tool has a specific task. The formation of such a device is particular to the surroundings that manifest it. In the case of tools that we use in our personal lives, or within our psychology, they become a direct result of our present mindset. This idea is to say that I need to create my tools for my problems because they are unique to me due to my prior experiences.
The Sword
The sword is an example of one such tool that was created to carry out specific tasks and solve a series of problems. The sword is an engineering marvel and tremendously versatile. It can be used to prepare food or defend one's homeland. It can also help to make a fire or be utilized for show. There are three primary steps for creating a sword. We will walk through each phase and relate it to our daily struggles.
To create such a tool, we must obtain the raw materials; in this case, several different kinds of metal. There is a hard material on the outside and a softer, more malleable one utilized for the inside. This combination of materials allows the hard outer surface to retain the sharp edge while gaining structural support that will yield to a blow without cracking from the softer inner metal.
We can form our outlook on life to be much like the sword. There should be a hard outer surface that can withstand the chaos, and a softer inside that will yield to the pending storm. If we become too mentally or spiritually rigid, we will surely crack under stress.
"Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused. ..." - Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - Chapter 22
To properly form these two metals, heat is repeatedly utilized. The metals are forced into the blacksmiths forge together. They are brought out and beaten into shape with a hammer. This process happens iteratively. It continues until the entire sword has been formed into the proper configuration.
When we face adversity in our lives, it is much like being thrust into the Blacksmith's kiln. We are heated and then formed by repeated blows from reality. This process is painful but necessary. As we are developed, we change into who it is that we might be. So we must take care not to hold onto who we once were.
"Your life will improve incrementally if you eliminate those things that are making you bitter and miserable. But in order to do this, you have to make the decision to burn off all that deadwood and sacrifice that unhappiness, even if you feel that you are justified in harboring it, and stop doing things that you do and know you shouldn't be doing. And the best way to motivate yourself to do this is to envision how your life will turn out if you carried out and did all of these things." - Dr. Jordan B. Peterson in a Facebook Post
The final formational stage required for the sword is the removal of a small amount of material by grinding and polishing. Grinding allows for the final shape to be obtained; the polishing helps to provide a mirror-like finish and final sharpening. Once this process is complete, there is a tool ready to be utilized that reflects the craftsman's artistic mindset.
This final stage, for us, is self-care and self-learning. When we learn about who we are, we can remove a small amount of material that is no longer serving us. As time passes, we have to remove less, and it becomes much more like a polishing process. This approach, however, is painful as we tend to like ourselves, both the productive and detrimental parts. It is a choice, but we can shed those parts of us that are no longer useful.
My Tools
"Some challenges are like David facing Goliath, fast and to the point. Most of them, however, are like David facing Saul: it takes forever" - JP Lepeley
Now, for a short anecdote about tools that I have created and used in my life. My parents divorced during my mid to late teen years. Later, I realized the degree that I chose in college was not best suited for my joy. Hell, I realized that I didn't know what happiness was. As a result, I became bitter, resentful, and even angry at a world that had done me wrong. If only I were born differently, I would think to myself, then my situation would be altered.
I slowly came to realize through much reading and soul-searching that all of this pain came from a lack of the proper tools to be able to move forthrightly toward my struggles. The pain came from not having the appropriate sword to slay the dragons that lived within me. We all have our internal landscape and, as such, need our particular swords. In life, there is no such thing as a one size fits all approach. My toolset is some combination of meditation, mindfulness, gratitude, exercise, eating well, not drinking too much, and sleeping enough.
A Guide For Your Life
"The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill." - Albert Einstein
At this point, you might be wondering, how can I apply this to my life? The great thing is that there are many decision-making approaches, and underneath it, all is a well-known process called the "Hero's Journey." I have spoken about this process in several other articles that you might find in "The Only Thing We Have," "Are We Prepared for Freedom?" or "The Age of The Neurotic."
Herein I would like to speak about the Hero's Journey and how it pertains to a problem solving or decision-making framework. The fortunate part about the hero is he/she is the one that goes out into the world to explore. As we do this, we continuously collect data. This data allows us to recognize patterns. When we identify a pattern, that is how we make a decision. Upon making a decision based on this real-world information, we are then compelled to move toward some goal. As we progress toward our objective, our perspective changes. The data we are receiving about the point of focus changes as we move, and our view of that target changes. Therefore, we are always taking in data and having to re-evaluate. This concept is critical for gaining confidence and facing the world.
We need to be able to go out and explore new territory for the sake of decision making. This approach could be in the form of taking on a new task at work, going to a new hobby based group, trying a new sport, etc. By choosing small and attainable goals, we start to gain the confidence that we can overcome challenges that come our way. When we are in certain situations, we can decide to deploy a particular decision-making framework, but it should be clear that no matter what structure we choose, the goal is the same. Any approach seeks to take in data, organize it in a useful manner, and allow our brains to analyze it to find patterns or anomalies upon which we can act.
It is also crucial for us to understand the nature of the problem that we would like to solve. If we want to understand which car is a better deal, that is straight forward, and we have the tool of economics by our side. If we want to know which boots are more durable for hiking, then science is on our team, and we can read test reviews. However, if we want to know how it is that we should act in the world, in other words, answer moral questions, then those are much more difficult.
These value-based questions require much more reasoning, interpretation, and relying on what others have said as a guiding light. Deciding to save one person, only to kill an entire trolly car (Trolly Problem) cannot be solved by scientific quantification. This point is where our experience and learning from the works of others can help us. We are only able to have experienced and learned from others when we go out and explore the world. We are only able to explore the world when we are not cowering at home, and we are on the Hero's Journey of going into the chaotic unknown to bring back information that will be helpful to ourselves and our society.
Conclusions
"Americans have a tendency to believe that when there's a problem there must be a solution." - Henry Kissinger
The sword contains two different metals, one soft and yielding, the other hard and sharp. It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to forge this material into the final offering. The sword is made sharp by continually forming it with both heat and extreme force. The sword, I believe, is analogous to life in the sense that we all must develop our tools to solve specific problems. Once we have taken the time and effort to form our devices, we must face our personal challenges head-on. This action is the most powerful thing that we can do with our lives.
The ironic thing to keep in mind is that by going out into the world, and facing what is there, it helps us to formulate and refine the tools that we have. We do not create new ways to solve problems by sitting at home on the couch. We must push ourselves out of our comfort zone one small step at a time and, as the Hero's Journey suggests, go into the chaos of the world and bring back a piece of knowledge that can be added to the order that we as humans create.
The point of this article was to introduce you to the idea of the world as a series of problems. We learned that by facing these problems, we discover the data that we need to create our collection of solutions. Perhaps now, your understanding is a bit deeper in realizing that reality is imbued with chaos, which displays itself to us as a set of problems. We have been optimized to take on that challenge and, as such, can do it with a smile and some joy, or we can allow ourselves to become bitter, resentful victims of the world.
"The problems differ from generation to generation, but the qualities needed to solve them remain unchanged from world's end to world's end" - Theodore Roosevelt
Please check out the readings in the further contemplation section below and leave a comment. I would really like to hear what you thought about this post!
For Further Contemplation:
I introduce the Stoic's approach to problem-solving where they look at problems as opportunities instead of something that degrades the quality of our existence in the post "Problems As Opportunities." I discuss our desire to solve problems, and aim at a definite point, which causes us to miss the most precious thing in life, the present moment here, "The Doer's Dilemma." Finally, I explore the idea that when we overcome a significant challenge, we should hold onto the occurrence and place it into a metaphorical backpack so that we can have it to revisit during hard times in the post titled "What's In Our Backpack?"