How to Determine Chronic Problems

Taken from: http://bit.ly/1n0orf1

What we see most times are acute symptoms of the real thing. The chronic problem is the cause, the underlying, and the root of the symptoms experienced. Unfortunately what we fight is often the acute and not the chronic. Fighting the acute is important but not as a permanent solution of the problem. You can pluck out the leaves of an unwanted tree all you want; it will grow new ones with every spring season. If you want to snuff out its life go for the roots!

If you desire to fight the chronic you must first be open to any possibilities. You don’t know what it may be and so you must assume it can be anything. Opening your mind to any possibilities throws a wide net and increases your chances of discovering and fighting the source. This goes hand-in-hand with your willingness to learn. Not everyone is teachable. It was Socrates that said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” An open mind is an attitude that knows that knowledge is transient and progressive.

In addition, I suggest you isolate the symptoms. Don’t generalize all symptoms to mean a common cause. The tricky thing with symptoms is that many causes share similar ones especially at the initial stages. Pick out exactly what symptoms you are experiencing and isolate them. This immediately cuts down the number of causes. Remember not to assume from your experience the cause of a problem.  The fact that you are noticing similar symptoms to something you have handled in the past doesn’t make it that thing.

Finally, scrutinize what you have been feeding on – in this case information. What information have you fed your mind with? Just the same way your junk diet affects energy levels, contributes to poor performance and obesity, can damage your vital internal organs, and can lead to diabetes, junk information that gets into your mind will lead to havoc beyond your wildest imagination. The acid test which determines if information is junk or good is a run through the following questions:

1.     Is it true information?

2.     Does it demand your respect?

3.     Is it honourable - does it bring honour to you?

4.     Will it produce admirable results?

5.     Does it excel other similar information?

If you would take these three steps seriously and in sequence you would find the cause of every problem facing your business, family, faith, health, or mind.