Solving Problems

Gratitude 3/8/2026

I am grateful for the gift of a new day.
My heart is filled with gratitude for the many blessings I have.
I will appreciate the small joys and express my thanks in all circumstances.
Let my attitude of gratitude bring joy to others.

I am so grateful for real problem solvers.

The most urgent problem I face, especially these days is when I really have to go to the bathroom. It’s all I can think about, especially now that I’m 70. A few years ago I had bought myself a biggie drink to tide me over on a long drive back home. I was so thirsty. I was tootling along just fine and all of a sudden there was a huge traffic backup on the interstate. I was nowhere near an exit and traffic just stopped. Of course, I immediately felt the urgency of having to go. I tried all my tricks, wiggling my legs, curling my toes, breathing out, but after a few minutes I was desperate. And there were cars stopped all around me in all three lanes.

I thought of the information I had gotten from my sister whose family members had been truck drivers. I looked long and hard at that half empty biggie cup and opened the door and emptied it onto the highway. Then I very carefully moved the seat back and postioned myself so it served as a container. And I emptied that onto the highway. I was oh so discreet!

But with the problem solved, I very quickly moved on to thinking of other things, because the problem was not a problem any more. When I finally reached a rest stop, I threw away the cup and washed my hands and went on my way.

When I think about it, that really is a good model for problem solving. You recognize the problem, determine the solution that will be effective, carry it out, and move on. When I really solve a problem effectively, I don’t have to deal with festering issues and dire consequences I have to contend with.

The first new car I bought was a Honda Civic in the 1970s. We LOVED that car. Because Hondas were in demand and backordered, I bought this one at full price and it had all kinds of bells and whistles. One of the bells was mag wheels. They looked great, but after a couple years, we started to get a slow leak in one of the tires. I would have to add air to it just about once a week. Still under warranty, I kept taking it back to the dealer to get this fixed. They couldn’t find any holes in the tire, and although I could solve it temporarily, it was a constant annoyance. I wound up buying two new tires, because you can never just replace one. But then that tire started the slow leak. It turned out the wheel itself was defective and air was leaking between the wheel and tire. Once I replaced the wheel (long after the warranty was up) the problem was solved and I didn’t think about it again.

Really good problem solvers look for “win win” solutions. The goal is to solve an identified problem rather than punish, crush, or humiliate someone. The first year I had a full time teaching job, I taught 7th grade in a pretty new building in the rural district. It has been designed as an “open classroom” environment, but it was a disaster for an overcrowded middle school. Within a few weeks, temporary walls were constructed between classrooms, which cut down on the interactions between students in different classes, but did not solve the noise or navigation problems. EVERYONE, including teachers, students, adminstrators, and parents was unhappy.

At the end of the year the superintendent called a meeting at the school to present the new plans for the upcoming year. All the teachers went into the meeting ready to reject the plans and complain about the lack of understanding the administration had of the situation.

To everyone’s astonishment and relief, the superintendent presented the plan to convert, and rehab a closed door classroom school to the new middle school and convert the open classroom school to an elementary. He explained how they had carefully considered all of the comments from all the affected people and worked hard to find a solution that would solve the most problems for the most people. It was the best possible solution based on the district budgets. It wasn’t a “perfect” solution but it was the best possible and even those who still had issues, recognized that.

Years later as the school district grew, Harrison Street became an elementary school and my own daughters went there when they built a new high school and converted the previous high school to a middle school, solving new problems.

When a solution favors one party over the other, which results in a “winner” and a “loser,” those solutions rarely last long or they sprout ongoing conflicts. Teachers and parents know what disasters result when solutions do not appear to be “fair.” The winners will always be on guard waiting for the revenge of the losers.

It takes incredible intelligence and diplomacy to craft win win solutions. In what I understand about history, after WWII, the powers that be recognized that punishment for the loser, would not be the answer. That had not worked very well following WWI. So instead, there was the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and the establishment of NATO and a stronger United Nations to create International Laws to deal with nations that were aggressive or ignored human rights. In addition, trading relationships were established to encourage countries, even former enemies, to work out mutually beneficial relationships.

It was always astonishing to me how quickly Japan became a trading partner with the US. My own sewing machine that my grandmother bought was made in “occupied Japan.” The cars, pottery, and electronics that Japan, Italy, and Germany (the Axis enemies during WWII) produced really improved the quality of goods because of competitive capitalism and free markets. As a people we all became so used to the good relations we have had since WWII with other countries we have just taken it for granted.

It has not been perfect, but the world had NOT been engaged in a world war that involved multiple countries.

We need smart people who can negotiate win win solutions for the problems we face today and will face tomorrow. I’m so grateful there are people who can do that.