Problem Solving 101

Ali:
We have all faced many problems in our lives before. The key to problems, however, is figuring out a good way to solve the problem whether its through making a compromise or just making peace. When solving a problem in life, the most important thing is to learn from your mistakes. I have had problems before with friends fighting and its hard not to get into the middle or be seen as "taking sides." One time I had two friends fighting over loud music being played at early hours in their dorm room when the other roommates had commitments to make early in the morning. It was realized by the girls in this dorm that there was a problem when one of the roommates could not sleep due to this loud music. Being kept up by the music made roommate number one very over tired which also made her very grumpy. Tensions started to rise and one night there was an explosion and a huge fight. Others started to get involved and some people were seen as taking sides. To solve this problem we all sat down and talked about why this was happening and how we were going to solve this problem. We came up with many different ideas and theories to help us solve the broken relationships and we decided on different living situations for next year. After the talk, everyone felt much better and took the conversation very well. This essentially solved the problem and took a lot of stress off of everyone to the point where each girl could focus on their schoolwork again.

Katie:
Everyone encounters problems everyday wether they are new or the same from day to day. They can be very simple to solve or extremely hard. There sometimes is a straight answer and sometimes there is a grey area or work the problem out by talking or writing. A few weeks ago I had to write a paper. The topic had to be a topic of discussion in my major.  This was not an easy task for my major is biosystems engineering and is very hard to explain.  Their topics are very complicated to write about in essay form.  Well I set off to do some research. I could not find anything online so I became stumped. I want to some of the upperclassmen in my major and asked them. We talked it out and came up with the idea of alternative energy. They explained what was happening and what the argument was. Then I could begin my research. I formed and great argument and a successful paper then is easy to understand.

Problem Solving Strategies:
Both of these stories explain how a problem was dealt with and how they were solved. They had very similar steps too. Both of us first addressed that there was a problem and it needed solving right away. They have to realize first that they need to deal with the problem or there will be consequences. In Ali's case there will be broke friendships and splitting up groups of friends. In Katie's situation, her paper will not be turned in and very hard to research and write. Both of these problems need to be solved and fast. The best way to solve a problem is to talk about it. If you go out it in a calm and reasonable fashion, you can always find a solution. You must be open minded and listen careful but it will work every time for every situation.