Words that caught us: Most 'new' problems are actually 'old' problems

 

"Most of the challenges we face

Are things we’ve faced before."

 

We have faced recessions before.

Drought and famines

Have visited us before.

We have been through

Bad leadership before.

Pandemics have come and gone.

Most of our health problems

Emanate from areas or things,

We, and others, have ignored/neglected before. 

Most of our interpersonal conflicts

Are actually cycles of the same issue(s).

And, yes, we have had elections before,

And voted the same way, again and again.

There's almost nothing new

Under the sun.

 

Here's the thing:

New problems are very rare,

And far in between.

What we have in plenty,

Are old problems

For which

We have applied the same,

But unsuccessful solutions.

Our biggest undoing

Is in ignoring history,

And repeating

What doesn't work;

For fear of the hard work,

And courage,

Required

To get over our attachment

With the status quo,

And explore the edges,

For what really works.

That's our REAL problem!

 

Check it out for yourself.

Look for any persistent problem

Out there,

Both in life and at work,

And you'll see

Willful blindness,

And

Impulsive repetition

At work!

 

Where might you be willfully blind?

Where might you be impulsively repeating

What doesn’t work?

What ‘old problem’ are you struggling with

Under the guise of a ‘new challenge’?

What will you do to overcome your attachment

Over old solutions that don't work?

 

*Today’s reflection is inspired by this insight by Seth Godin on New problems, old problems.