1 Must-Know Problem Solving Method Used by Children
The advanced way children solve problems and how we can apply them to our lives.
In a previous post, I stated children are born with all the wisdom and knowledge they need. As they grow up, we (adults) introduce them to new concepts, train them to unlearn, and forget what they knew coming into the world.
One powerful technique often used by children to get to the bottom of anything is simply by asking the question ‘Why?’.
Children love to ask ‘Why’ when seeking to understand new concepts introduced to them.
As adults, when we are probed with the question ‘Why?’ from children and don’t have answers or don’t have the patience to answer the question, we either come up with silly answers, lies, or brush the child off and ask them to be quiet.
Ironically, the same approach we use to quiet children’s questions is the same one we use on ourselves.
When we have unanswered questions, we also come up with silly answers, lie to ourselves or brush it off rather than address the question.
We allow unanswered questions to linger within long enough to cause an emotional wound that we continue to ignore until it’s usually too late.
One of those emotional wounds that we have learned to cope with is insecurity.
The dictionary describes ‘Insecurity’ as a lack of confidence or assurance, self-doubt, instability. These are also signs of insecurity, along with another known symptom — low self-esteem.
Insecurity is a feeling of inadequacy — not being good enough, and uncertainty. It causes anxiety in all areas of your life, especially where you feel the most insecure.
We are all plagued with some form of insecurity or another. Instead of seeking why we have a gaping hole, we choose avoidance, or we fill that hole up with some material object.
For me, I chose avoidance.
As a child growing up, I had a stuttering problem, and this problem prevented me from speaking up in public.
I would avoid any situation that required me to say more than one word, which prevented me from participating in many activities.
I lived this way through my childhood and into most of my adulthood until one day, I asked myself the question, Why?
As an analyst, one of the techniques we use during the analysis of a problem is the 5 Why’s Method. It’s an interrogative technique used to uncover the root cause of a problem, and it’s the same technique used by children.
This is how I used the technique on myself.
The problem was: I’m scared to speak in public.
- Why? — I was made fun of as a child.
- Why? — I made a fool of myself.
- Why? — I stuttered.
- Why? — I lacked confidence.
- Why? — I wasn’t prepared.
I realized that I had been living a lie for most of my life when all I had to do was prepare.
I had sold myself short and missed out on many opportunities that came my way, and I am sure there are many people out there who feel the same way.
Without using the 5 Whys method for self-analysis, it becomes challenging for anyone to see the why behind their insecurities. This is because the insecurity itself causes self-doubt, instability, and low self-esteem.
With the 5 Whys method, you will discover that the enemy isn’t the insecurity but the why behind the insecurity.
So the question becomes, why do we choose to cover up our insecurities, dig ourselves into a deeper hole, and live a life of lies. Rather than uncover the root cause of our insecurities with a technique used by children?
I won’t pretend to have an answer, but I know it’s easier for most people to do the same thing over and over again and hope for a different result than it is to do something different.
Our insecurities indicate where we need to love and accept ourselves more, so please pay attention to them, do not avoid them, or put lipstick on the pig.
