Step Two in Solving Your Problem

Write down every question you can think of that’s associated with your problem.

Congratulations! You made it to Step Two. Here it is: take out your journal or a sheet of paper. Get a pen. Take another deep breath.

Put the date and time at the top of the page. Now, ask yourself every single question you can think of that relates to the problem.

Let me ask you something: Did you realize that every problem you or I or humanity as a whole has ever faced, or ever will face, is simply a question?

That’s because that’s all any problem ever can be. For instance, look at the problems I gave you in the examples above. Every one of them can be expressed as a question.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common problems facing humanity – people who are broke, in debt, and out of work. The questions surrounding this issue might include:

How will I get a job?
Where will my next dollar come from?
How will I pay my bills?
How am I going to feed my children?
How will I pay my landlord?
What kind of work would I really like to do?
When will I start doing something to begin doing that?
How much can I pay my creditors so they don’t take me to court?
How will I afford that?
Who can help me solve this problem...?

Okay, so you’re writing every single question that comes to your mind, no matter how crazy, stupid, silly, or irrelevant it seems to you. If it comes to your mind, write it down — unless you’d like to remain stuck in your problem!

Now, notice what I DID NOT say. I DID NOT say that you have to know any or all of the answers to these questions!

In fact, it’s a given, it is absolutely certain, that you won’t know the answers to these questions yet. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have a problem in that area, now would you?

I’m not trying to be facetious here. I'm being absolutely serious. I want you to know that you are not supposed to know the answer to your questions –– because, if you already knew the answer, this wouldn’t be a problem for you!

Therefore, no matter how “stupid” or “ridiculous” you think the questions are, you’d better write them all down, if you’d like to be free from this problem.

Frankly, (and this may sound a bit harsh), it doesn’t matter what you think about your questions or your problems. You can think they’re “stupid” and “silly” all you want, but that doesn’t help you solve them, does it?

By the way, the reason we write the date and time on our paper is so that in six months, when you’re facing another set of problems, you can refer back to this list and go, “I was worried about that? Remember when I thought that was a problem?” And enjoy a good laugh at yourself.