“There are three stages of awareness in any human problem. First, being aware of the cause and effect of the problem; second, being aware of its dual or contradictory process; and third, being aware of self and experiencing the thinker and his thoughts as one.” — J. Krishnamurti
Albert Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
When faced with a problem, Einstein wouldn’t judge his thoughts—condemning, justifying, or comparing them. Rather, he observed his thoughts, to the point where the action even subsumed his identity as a scientist.
On the other hand, when we notice a problem, like scrolling Instagram, we jump into action mode and resolve to quit the app cold turkey. But if we don’t realize that our behavior is a symptom of a larger problem—boredom, habits, FOMO—we just replace Instagram with another tool. Or we return to the app, this time with a stronger addiction. Life becomes a circle of vicious creating problems and solving them.
In other words, our lack of understanding of problems creates more of them. A poignant conflict. “This conflict cannot be transcended through an act of will, it can only be transcended when choice has ceased,” Krishnamurti says.
Let’s learn from Einstein’s approach to problem-solving. Let’s observe our thoughts until everything (even our sense of self) evaporates and what’s left behind is the real issue.
This begins radical transformation within us.