Can You Find a New Way to See an Old Problem?
Try one more time. Surely this stain will come off the carpet.
So my husband Jeff scrubs again. But he makes no progress.
The Stubborn Stain
I had first noticed the stain on our living room carpet only a few minutes earlier. It was an odd shade of copper, unlike most of our stains from spills of apple juice or tea or greasy shoe prints.
Jeff and I toss around ideas of its origin. Trying to be polite and not blame each other (or ourselves), we blame the only other person not currently in the room, but who had been in the house that day: our 2-year-old grandson, an easy target.
It was probably his shoes, we say. We’d played outside right before naptime, and likely hadn’t noticed he’d perhaps stepped in mud. He was now safely tucked away sound asleep, minus his shoes. We could check them later.
But for now, Jeff, our expert stain-remover, pulls out his cleaning spray and gets to work.
Yet the stain remains as strong as ever.
After multiple attempts at removing it, I suggest he give up. I say it’s one more reason we need new flooring.
Through the baby monitor, I hear our sleeping grandson make a sound. I flip the monitor towards me for a clearer view of him in his crib.
Just at that moment, Jeff announces: The stain just disappeared!
Try a New Perspective
Sometimes our old tried-and-true solutions don’t work on every problem like we expect them to. For instance, if you want to remove a stain, you typically have to just clean it up.
But when our old solutions don’t work, instead of trying a different solution, sometimes we just try harder the old way.
What we might need instead is a new perspective.
In my year of Curiosity, I want to remain open to new ways of approaching old problems.
- Maybe that will mean stepping sideways to see them from a different angle.
- Or stepping away altogether for a minute for a mental break and reset.
- Or asking someone else how they would manage them that I wouldn’t consider on my own.
After our initial shock, the magic of our disappearing stain was easily explained. There had been no stain in the first place.
What we had seen on the carpet was simply an odd reflection coming from the baby monitor.
By moving the monitor, the “stain” vanished.
Not all our problems can be so easily solved. In fact, the vast majority of our problems likely won’t evaporate by a slight turn of perspective.
But if some of them can, might it be worth a try? Especially if we discover the problem wasn’t real to begin with, or will disappear altogether, if we’ll just think about it differently for a minute?
It’s worth being curious about.
Especially if it results in a soul-cleansing explosion of laughter when you realize you’ve been cleaning up an imaginary mess all along, just like our mysterious stain.
Have you ever had a problem disappear once you changed your perspective about it? Do you struggle with seeing new solutions to old problems? Share in the comments.
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wow, Lisa. what a powerful start to your year of being curious. a perfect analogy, new lenses to see things from a different angle. i’m glad you’re in my life because i’m coming along for the ride.
i’m already learning from your word.
What a great beginning for your year of curiosity. Makes me curious too about how many things I might be treating like stains when they are actually just a strange and different arrival of light?
Oh how funny the stain situation was. One of my earliest misunderstandings with my husband arose because I assumed his motives. But once we talked about it, the situation disappeared, like your stain, because it wasn’t a problem to begin with. I try to keep that in mind and not jump to assumptions and imagine all their supposed reasons in my head. But I still sometimes fail. It’s so enriching to see things from another’s point of view.
What a funny twist to your problem! When I used to sew and try to get the pattern to fit a fabric remnant I’d bought, sometimes I’d have to sleep on it. The next morning the solution would be so clear. Rest helps too!
I love your story here, Lisa! Such a concrete example of how we can find solutions by taking a new perspective on the situation. Your word, curious, is off to a running start!
I love this, Lisa. A funny lesson but with depths of meaning. What a difference a different perspective can make! I love your word. I see you as a naturally curious person and I am looking forward to glean more lessons from “curious” this year. Love and blessings to you!
This is a great illustration – how quickly we jump to conclusions and judgments but taking on a curious next look shows us something far different. Reminds me to slow down too. This is an exciting word for you!
I love your word for this year, Lisa! I had to laugh when I read the resolution to your stain problem because something very similar happened to us recently. There was a mysterious gray stain on our quartz kitchen countertops that appeared out of nowhere, with no apparent cause. I scrubbed with the magic eraser and other things but it wouldn’t go away. Then the next time. I looked it was gone. Randy said it was a shadow, but who knows. I was just glad it wasn’t there anymore.
This was a cute and funny story. Shadows – it’s amazing how they can lead our minds astray. Sometimes it truly is best to see situations, and stains, in a different light. I think you have a word which will bring lessons for us all to learn 🙂
I apologize for laughing when the “stain” magically disappeared. I only laughed because I can see the same thing happening to me.
But seriously, this is a GREAT lesson in perspective!
One Word #3