It seems as if problem-solving is one of the most prioritized skills in our culture. Perhaps in the days when professions were simpler to explain (I'm a banker, cook, milkman, blacksmith, etc.), work tasks were more repetitive and explainable. Nowadays, it seems impossible to explain a work title in only a sentence or two. We are constantly asked to problem-solve in the varied and unpredictable lives we live.
There is nothing wrong with problem-solving and we should definitely teach our children the process of reasoning out good decisions. But an aptitude for problem-solving can also lead to a very dangerous characteristic: Self-reliance. I am quite guilty of falling into the self-reliance trap. I will often expend huge amounts of time and energy trying to find every possible way to figure it out or do it myself before I ask for help.
Another product of the problem-solving approach is a tendency to view all situations as needing to be or able to be FIXED. I've been told this is common to males but it isn't exclusive, for sure. My goals at the beginning of 2016 had more to do with trying to fix things in my life or in my work, and I've once again wasted a lot of energy trying to solve things that may not necessarily be problems.
This week, my simple goal was to ask God to fill me with love and patience and then spend the day expending it and starting over the next day. It's amazing how much the "problems" I've been focusing on this year have dissipated and I've found other things to focus on. Even if I "fix" something today, there will be something else tomorrow. It is becoming clear I need to be more about God's plan than my problem-solving.
