Many times in our lives we face challenges. Some are job-related, others are problems with people. Sometimes they are both. We all have to deal with them at one time or another. Some of us deal with problems more than others, but during our lifetime we will all have problems that need to be addressed and solved.

Sometimes people see the problems only from their point of view when in reality there may be other sides of which they are not aware. The thing is we all have to address them, face up to them and see what the best solution is for all those involved. The first step in addressing any problem though is to find what or whom is really the problem. Not what we may think is the problem or whom we think the cause of our problem, but get serious about finding out what the problem really is. Let me give you an example:

There is an old story about a man who had a continual ringing in his ears, a flushed face and bulging eyes. He went from one doctor to another and one specialist to another to try and find a solution to his problem. One doctor took out his tonsils, but his ears kept ringing, his eyes kept bulging and his face stayed flushed. Another doctor checked him out and decided he needed to have his appendix removed because it was about to burst and was poisoning his system. Still, the symptoms remained. He even flew overseas to have some specialist look at him because he knew he was dying, but to no avail.

Finally he gave up and he figured they can’t cure me at least I’m going to enjoy my remaining days. He quit his job, sold his belongings, and made plans to travel around the world. To prepare for his trip he went to his favorite clothing store to buy some shirts and a couple of suits. The owner of the store waited on him personally, picked out a couple of suits and then said, “let’s get you some shirts.”

“Let’s see what I have in a 16 1/2 neck size.”

The fellow said, “no, I wear a 15 1/2 neck size, always have.”

The owner said, “let’s measure to make sure. Yes, it’s a 16 1/ 2 for sure.”

The fellow responded, “But, I’ve always worn a 15 1/2, all my adult life.”

The owner replied, “Well, I can tell you this, the customer is always right but with a neck your size, if I was to wear a 15 1/2 neck size shirt, my ears would ring, my eyes would bulge, and my face would be flushed.”

So you see we can apply respected solutions to the wrong problems. First, the number question we face is...What is really the problem. Just some food for thought!