The author argues that once you make problem solving a way of life, your life is doomed to failure.

Why is this so?

Because the action of problem solving leads to improved situations.

Improved situations lead to less problem-solving effort and a loss of urgency and motivation.

Less problem-solving effort in turn leads to the underlying problem not being solved.

This is a common pattern in our lives.

For example, if we are short of money, we work hard to earn money, and when we earn money, the problem of lack of money is alleviated;

After the problem is alleviated, our efforts to solve the problem become less again and we lie down and spend;

As a result, it leads us to lack of money again;

So we continue to work, continue to race like rats;

The end result is that we never escape from this rat race game and get trapped by money.

It's a development model that swings back and forth - problem worsens, effort, improvement, weakened motivation, reduced effort, worsening.

The author's was involved in a Ugandan village development and training program that went something like this:

In 1981, Uganda was in political turmoil, people's livelihoods were withering, the economy was dismal, and the people were living in dire straits.

Millions of people were living in misery, with minimal access to social services, and it was widely recognized at the time that huge foreign aid and relief would be needed to revive the country.

There was an expectation that the international community would step in to help a people who had lost hope.

Thus, the Uganda Village Development and Training Program (UVDTP) was born.

In December 1982, a village in western Uganda, as in a village seminar, everyone was eager to solve their problems:

We don't have this and we don't have that;

Pests and fever are killing us;

Help is needed to eradicate human and animal diseases;

Hunting down wild action that eats crops;

Driving out shameless businessmen.

We don't have medicine, taxi cabs cost too much, the regime is tyrannical, etc.

But the organizers of this project didn't come up with specific solutions to one problem at a time.

Rather, they truly believe that the villagers, themselves, have the ability and intelligence to change the quality of their lives and get the life they want.

So the organizers' main goal was to stimulate their internal motivation and to tell them: you have enough power and wisdom to create the life you want.

They organized the villagers in seminar after seminar. Let the villagers participate freely and express themselves fully. After a few times, the villagers recognized the status quo, began to wake up, and started to conceptualize the way they wanted to live, the way their families and villages would look like.

The villagers fully identified their mission and vision.

Next, the group divided up to create what they wanted and focus on the life they wanted to lead.

Wanting clean water, they identified water sources and protected them.

They built schools, built roads, and dug ponds for fish.

Because the plan was born entirely of their own subjective will, they were energized and happy to do it.

As a result, the project was a real success, and although the political situation was still chaotic, the economy of the villages in which the program was carried out improved, and the well-being of the villagers was greatly enhanced.

This dwarfed the previous relief programs that had been designed to address the headaches and treat the symptoms.

So, when people believe that they are responsible for everything, they begin to take control of their own destiny and make a difference.

If they always rely on outside help and sit around waiting for relief, they will only be greeted with failure.

So, the core of personal growth lies in, motivating your own internal drive, mission vision, the kind of life you want to live, you create it.

I remember a classic line from “When Happiness Comes Knocking”, where the son wants to be a professional blueliner, and is demoralized by his father's blows.

The father says to the son:

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't, not even me. If you have a dream, you must protect it yourself. Those who can't make something happen, they will tell you that you can't either. If you want something, you have to get it yourself.

A lot of times we can't make something happen because we don't really want it, we don't have enough internal motivation.

We just say, I want to live a rich life, but then I don't make any moves, I don't want to pay any price, and I wait for one day to hit a big break.

Realize that there is no such thing as getting something for nothing.

Go for it.

The author argues that once you make problem solving a way of life, your life is doomed to failure.

Why is this so?

Because the action of problem solving leads to improved situations.

Improved situations lead to less problem-solving effort and a loss of urgency and motivation.

Less problem-solving effort in turn leads to the underlying problem not being solved.

This is a common pattern in our lives.

For example, if we are short of money, we work hard to earn money, and when we earn money, the problem of lack of money is alleviated;

After the problem is alleviated, our efforts to solve the problem become less again and we lie down and spend;

As a result, it leads us to lack of money again;

So we continue to work, continue to race like rats;

The end result is that we never escape from this rat race game and get trapped by money.

It's a development model that swings back and forth - problem worsens, effort, improvement, weakened motivation, reduced effort, worsening.

The author's was involved in a Ugandan village development and training program that went something like this:

In 1981, Uganda was in political turmoil, people's livelihoods were withering, the economy was dismal, and the people were living in dire straits.

Millions of people were living in misery, with minimal access to social services, and it was widely recognized at the time that huge foreign aid and relief would be needed to revive the country.

There was an expectation that the international community would step in to help a people who had lost hope.

Thus, the Uganda Village Development and Training Program (UVDTP) was born.

In December 1982, a village in western Uganda, as in a village seminar, everyone was eager to solve their problems:

We don't have this and we don't have that;

Pests and fever are killing us;

Help is needed to eradicate human and animal diseases;

Hunting down wild action that eats crops;

Driving out shameless businessmen.

We don't have medicine, taxi cabs cost too much, the regime is tyrannical, etc.

But the organizers of this project didn't come up with specific solutions to one problem at a time.

Rather, they truly believe that the villagers, themselves, have the ability and intelligence to change the quality of their lives and get the life they want.

So the organizers' main goal was to stimulate their internal motivation and to tell them: you have enough power and wisdom to create the life you want.

They organized the villagers in seminar after seminar. Let the villagers participate freely and express themselves fully. After a few times, the villagers recognized the status quo, began to wake up, and started to conceptualize the way they wanted to live, the way their families and villages would look like.

The villagers fully identified their mission and vision.

Next, the group divided up to create what they wanted and focus on the life they wanted to lead.

Wanting clean water, they identified water sources and protected them.

They built schools, built roads, and dug ponds for fish.

Because the plan was born entirely of their own subjective will, they were energized and happy to do it.

As a result, the project was a real success, and although the political situation was still chaotic, the economy of the villages in which the program was carried out improved, and the well-being of the villagers was greatly enhanced.

This dwarfed the previous relief programs that had been designed to address the headaches and treat the symptoms.

So, when people believe that they are responsible for everything, they begin to take control of their own destiny and make a difference.

If they always rely on outside help and sit around waiting for relief, they will only be greeted with failure.

So, the core of personal growth lies in, motivating your own internal drive, mission vision, the kind of life you want to live, you create it.

I remember a classic line from “When Happiness Comes Knocking”, where the son wants to be a professional blueliner, and is demoralized by his father's blows.

The father says to the son:

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't, not even me. If you have a dream, you must protect it yourself. Those who can't make something happen, they will tell you that you can't either. If you want something, you have to get it yourself.

A lot of times we can't make something happen because we don't really want it, we don't have enough internal motivation.

We just say, I want to live a rich life, but then I don't make any moves, I don't want to pay any price, and I wait for one day to hit a big break.

Realize that there is no such thing as getting something for nothing.

Go for it.