Getting help problem solving
posted in Achieving Goals |
So what should you ask when, where and how? The way I encourage my students to know when to ask questions is to monitor how they are feeling. If they are doing their work and feel a little frustrated then they are fine. If they start to feel frustrated to the point where they are annoyed or want to quit then it’s time to ask a question or get help.
Another time to ask questions is when you’re just starting something new. While starting this blog, I am reading everything I can get my hands on about blogging. I come at this knowing very little and try to pick up every hint that anyone has. At this point I’m not picky about what I read, I just try to get what I can from it.
A harder question is where you should ask. Sometimes it’s not obvious where answers may be found. I tend to start with the Internet and see what I can find. Next I check out the library and, in particular, the inter-library loan where I can get a book from any library in my part of the state. If I can’t find answers through these avenues, I start talking to people, any people. When I was struggling with exhaustion and had no idea what was wrong, I talked to everyone I met to explain my symptoms. If, on the off chance, someone had heard of a similar issue I might find out something. It took almost six months of asking before I got close to a solution. I ended up at an allergist because someone suggested it and I figured it couldn’t hurt. It turned out to be the solution.
The most important thing is to remember that just because you don’t know how a problem can be solved doesn’t mean that no one knows. Find a way to frame a question about your problem and then keep putting it out there. Living creatively means doing things differently than they were done before. You may end up with more questions. You may think that what you want is impossible because you’ve never seen it done before. Don’t worry about that. Find the answers you need by asking the right questions and being persistent.
