Knowing The Cause of Your Problem Doesn't Help You Solve It

Most people believe this is the first step. They are wrong.

Not gonna lie, it happened to me too.

I thought that I needed to understand the cause of my problem so I could fix it.

If I was angry I had to know the reason so I could let it go. Same thing if I was sad, anxious, etc.

Well, this is wrong (partly).

You don’t need to know the cause of your problem to resolve it.

Let’s say you sleep terrible. Horrible sleep each night. You’re miserable. You have tried everything but you still can’t sleep well. Then you relocate to another country because of your job. Suddenly you can sleep like a baby.

It’s a miracle!

Do you know what solved the problem? Heck no, you don’t even know what caused it. But now you sleep like a king. Your problem is fixed.

Of course, your problem has a reason. But solving it doesn’t necessarily mean understanding the reason that caused it.

I know a lot of people that know the cause of their problems too well:

“I don’t go out, that’s why I can’t get a girlfriend…”

“I eat too much candy, that’s why I can’t lose weight…”

“I know I push people away, it’s because of my parents’ divorce that I don’t trust people…”

“Yeah, my lung cancer happened  because I smoke… anyway, darling would you be so kind as to pass me the box of cigarettes over there?”

Etc.

Knowing the cause of your problem can be useful. But only if you use that knowledge to solve it.

That’s why I argue that it doesn’t matter that you know the cause of your problem, only that it gets resolved.

Who cares where your insecurity came from. If learning to play the guitar solves it, then that’s all that matters.

If knowing the cause helps you solve it, great! But realize it is an optional step, it is not a prerequisite to fixing it.

The cause of a problem is not important unless it helps solve the problem.

Have a wondrous day.

Cheers!