The Black Panther Approach to Problem Solving

Constantly operating in problem-solving mode might as well function with the same utility as anxiety — it’s stressful.

It implies an automatic negative connotation to the challenges we face both big and small and in between. Basically, everyone is solving their own problems in their own unique ways, whether in real life or in business. Major personal issues like health and family and friendships aside, the entrepreneurial lifestyle inherently comes with its fair share of problem-solving requirements.

Sometimes for entrepreneurs, it may even feel like all they’re doing can be boiled down to fixing problems.

And for many type A, perfectionist, accomplishment-oriented archetypes like myself, this can be exhausting. A vigorous problem-solving tendency seems to come naturally to this archetypal DNA. There’s almost a fervor for problem-solving, and discomfort when there doesn’t seem to be any problems to fix. And that’s where this approach can lead to burnout — professionally, interpersonally, and spiritually. And without going too esoteric with the spiritual aspect, it rather literally burns the spirit down as the constant grind weathers the energetic enthusiasm that hacks through the friction in the first place.

From 7 years of running a business in my twenties, while also troubleshooting critical health setbacks such as major knee surgery and a hidden, resilient illness in unison, I’ve learned that a poised, peaceful approach to problem-solving is not just the marketable strategy to employ, but the most efficient for solving the problems in the first place.

Here’s why:

Projecting stress into future outcomes or circumstances — or consequences of your problem-solving actions — only begets further problems and underlies the inherent conscious bias one’s applying to their problems in the first place.?It’s like approaching every problem as a last-second, full-court length heave at the hoop instead of shooting free throws in an empty gym. One approach applies negatively connotated pressure to the situation. The other does not perceive any pressure, to begin with. Both approaches are shooting for the same basket, but provide the polar opposite potential for hitting the shot. To tie in a mantra learned from a mindfulness exercise designed by Deepak Chopra and facilitated by my life coach, carrying the ethos of “this too shall pass” cultivates inner calm and quiet to not judge the circumstances at hand and just respond to them as they are. If you’re always waiting for the eye of the storm to give yourself the excuse that the storm is passing, you’ll never appreciate the fact that you’re sailing regardless of the weather. For fear of oversaturating my readers with athletic and recreational analogies, the point is: your challenges are going to stick around no matter how good you are at surpassing them; you might as well approach them gracefully.

How you choose to approach your problems also frames how you perceive the potential you have in solving them.?Think about the spectrum of possibilities with starting your own business. It’s a universe of possibilities in and of itself, and those possibilities range from exceptionally positive to extraordinarily negative. And along the way, you’ll face challenges. Mistakes will happen, accountabilities will be missed, and people will get disappointed. It’s inevitable, and this inevitability is a major reason why entrepreneurs typically embrace the ethos of learning to love the growth that comes through failure. And that’s how failures — either minor or major — can systematically improve a business and a person. There are two choices with every failure: learn from it to do better next time, or intentionally dwell on what went wrong and the negative feelings you have towards failure occurring in the first place. Another lesson from Deepak’s mindfulness exercise was embracing the power of conscious intention. That teaching encourages the belief that, no matter what your mind tells you, your focus is your satisfaction. What you focus on expands, so if you think you’re distracted, that’s your focus. If you think you’re focused, that’s your focus. And the conscious intention in that is knowing that at any given moment, you have the power to decide how you let the circumstances influence you. If you pull a?Black Panther suit?and harness those challenges as fuel for positivity, gratitude, and confidence, those working and interacting with you will feel that energy. Remember that what you internalize you eventually externalize to the atmosphere around you. This is how your stress can become contagious. If you let your problems eat away at your armor bit by bit, your peers will take on that friction as well. Essentially, you have the power to choose what gives you power. Choose wisely.

Hopefully, you’ll agree the Black Panther suit approach is the right — and undeniably more fun — approach to problem-solving.?But, remember that inevitability. More problems are coming for you. They’re going to hit your suit from all angles and with varying levels of efficacy. Are you going to use this expectation to foresee pain, struggle, and conflict? Or will you stay open to all the innate possibilities for magical miracles to occur leading to extraordinary success? A?graphic from Tim Urban?I came across in?Alice Lemee’s newsletter?visualizes this dilemma perfectly. We often expend disproportionate time focusing on all the missed opportunities in the past and not a fair share of time focusing on what successes these mishaps actually opened the door for. And this is where your Black Panther suit either explodes with vibrance or implodes with pessimism. You have the power, you have the poise, you have the fuel to manifest your dreams, embrace all the abundance that surrounds you, and operate at your highest level even when problems punch back.

The rest is unnecessary noise. Happy hunting.