positive attitude in problem solving

A Positive Attitude for Problem Solving Skills

Introduction

Positive Attitude

Benefits of a positive attitude.

Introduction: Problem-solving is essential for success in many areas of life, from academics to the workplace. Good problem solvers can break down a problem and gradually analyze it, while poor problem solvers often lack the confidence and experience to do this. A positive attitude towards Problem-solving is essential for success, as it allows individuals to approach problems confidently and believe they can be solved. This article will explore the benefits of a positive attitude in issue-solving, with examples of how it can help.

Optimistic problem solvers strongly believe academic reasoning problems can be solved through careful, persistent analysis. This belief is essential, as it allows individuals to approach problems with confidence and determination rather than giving up before they have even begun. A positive attitude also helps to reduce fear and anxiety when approaching complex problems, as it allows individuals to focus on the issue at hand rather than on their own perceived limitations.

The benefits of a positive attitude in problem-solving are numerous. Firstly, it allows individuals to break down a problem into smaller, more manageable chunks. This makes it easier to analyze the situation, enabling individuals to focus on one part of the problem at a time. It also helps reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed or intimidated by a problem, as it allows individuals to tackle the problem more organized and systematically.

Another benefit of a positive attitude in problem-solving is that it encourages gradual problem analysis. Poor problem solvers often give up when faced with a complex problem, believing they will never be able to solve it. However, a positive attitude allows individuals to take a step back and look at the situation holistically, considering all aspects of the problem and gradually analyzing it. This will enable individuals to understand the problem better and develop a plan of action for solving it.

To illustrate the benefits of a positive attitude in problem-solving, consider the following examples. An individual struggling to solve a mathematical problem may become overwhelmed by the complexity of the problem and give up before they have even begun. However, if they take a step back and break the problem down into smaller parts, they may be able to analyze it and come to a solution gradually. Similarly, an individual struggling to solve a complex business problem may feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the problem and give up. However, if they take a step back and break the problem down into smaller parts, they may be able to analyze it and come to a solution gradually.

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Conclusion: In conclusion, having a positive attitude towards problem-solving is essential for success. It allows individuals to approach problems confidently and believe they can be solved. It also allows individuals to break down a problem into smaller parts and gradually analyze it, reducing feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by a crisis. Examples of how a positive attitude can help in problem-solving are provided, illustrating the importance of a positive attitude.

A positive attitude is critical to unlocking problem-solving skills. IIENSTITU

What is the definition of problem solving?

Problem-solving is a critical cognitive process involving identifying and resolving issues or obstacles. It requires the individual to analyze a problem, determine potential solutions, evaluate them, and then implement the most effective solution. Problem-solving can be defined as a cognitive process that allows individuals and groups to identify and address problems, develop potential solutions, and make decisions that lead to successful problem resolution.

The process of problem-solving is often broken down into five stages: defining the problem, generating possible solutions, evaluating the solutions, implementing the chosen solution, consists in and monitoring the outcome.

The first stage involves defining the problem by gathering information about the situation and breaking down the problem into manageable components.

The second stage involves generating possible solutions by brainstorming, researching, and consulting with experts.

The third stage consists in evaluating the answers and selecting the best one.

The fourth stage involves implementing the chosen solution.

The fifth stage involves monitoring the outcome to assess whether the solution was successful.

Problem-solving is a complex process, and the outcome's success depends on the individual's ability to analyze the problem, identify potential solutions, and evaluate the solutions before implementing the best solution. It requires individuals to think critically, use creativity and draw on their knowledge and experience. It also needs individuals to be flexible and open to different approaches and solutions.

Problem-solving is an essential skill that people use in their everyday lives. It is necessary for the successful functioning of society, as it enables individuals and groups to identify and address problems, develop potential solutions, and make decisions that lead to successful problem resolution.

How does having a positive attitude help with problem solving?

A positive attitude when approaching a problem can be a great asset in finding a solution. It is often said that attitude is everything, and this is especially true when it comes to problem-solving. A positive attitude can lead to a more creative approach to problem-solving and increase the likelihood of finding a successful solution.

A positive attitude can help to increase motivation when approaching a problem. This can be a great asset in helping to identify the root cause of the problem and find a solution. In addition, with a positive attitude, an individual is more likely to take on the challenge of solving the problem rather than avoiding it or simply giving up.

Having a positive attitude can also help to promote constructive thinking. That is, thinking that focuses on solutions rather than playing the blame game or worrying about the consequences of failure. A positive attitude can help to keep the focus on finding solutions and staying motivated to work through the problem until a successful outcome is achieved.

In addition, having a positive attitude can help to reduce stress when tackling a problem. This can be invaluable in helping to maintain a clear mind and allow for the type of creative thinking that is often necessary when finding solutions. A positive attitude can help to keep the individual focused on the task at hand and help to prevent a feeling of being overwhelmed by the problem.

Finally, having a positive attitude can help to create a positive environment when approaching a problem. That environment encourages collaboration and brainstorming and promotes the exchange of ideas. This can be key to finding a successful solution.

In conclusion, having a positive attitude when approaching a problem can be a great asset in finding a successful solution. A positive attitude can help to increase motivation, promote constructive thinking, reduce stress, and create a positive environment when approaching a problem.

What are some examples of how a positive attitude can help with problem solving?

A positive attitude when facing a problem can be incredibly beneficial in solving it. Viewing the problem as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than a hurdle that cannot be overcome is essential. With the right attitude, problems can be solved more effectively and quickly.

One way that a positive attitude can help with problem-solving is by increasing motivation and perseverance. People with a positive attitude are likelier to persist in issue-solving and not give up when the going gets tough. With this attitude, it is more likely that a solution will be found.

Another way that a positive attitude can help with problem-solving is by providing greater clarity and focus. People with a positive attitude are more likely to take a step back and look at a situation objectively, allowing them to understand the problem better and develop a plan for solving it. This clarity and focus can also help to prevent distractions from derailing the problem-solving process.

Finally, a positive attitude can help to foster creativity and innovation. People with a positive attitude are more likely to look at a problem from a different perspective, allowing them to come up with creative solutions that would not have been considered otherwise. This creativity can be incredibly beneficial in finding a solution to a tricky problem.

In conclusion, I have a positive attitude when problem-solving can be immensely beneficial. It can increase motivation, provide clarity and focus, and foster creativity and innovation, all of which are important in finding a solution to a problem. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a positive attitude when facing a problem to maximize the chances of finding a solution.

What are the key components that contribute to effective problem-solving?

Key Components of Effective Problem-Solving Understanding the Situation The first component of effective problem-solving is understanding the situation properly. This entails gathering comprehensive information about the problem and defining it explicitly. Accurate problem identification enables the problem-solver to establish relevant goals and objectives that are critical in devising feasible solutions. Exploring Multiple Perspectives Divergent thinking, or exploring multiple perspectives, is the second key component. It involves considering different viewpoints, opinions, and beliefs in order to identify various aspects of the problem. By being open-minded and considering different alternatives, a problem solver can generate multiple potential solutions, increasing the likelihood of developing an effective and creative resolution. Critical Thinking and Analysis The third key component is critical thinking and analysis, involving the evaluation of the problem and potential solutions. By analyzing each solution's pros and cons, the problem solver can determine the most appropriate course of action. Factoring in the feasibility, practicality, and effectiveness of each solution allows for selecting the most viable option that adheres to predetermined goals and objectives. Decision Making and Implementation The fourth component is decision making and implementation, which requires selecting the best solution and putting it into practice. It is crucial to consider the potential consequences and necessary resources while taking decisive action. Effective problem-solving involves continual assessment and adjustments to improve and refine the chosen solution. Collaboration and Communication Lastly, collaboration and communication play a significant role in problem-solving. Consulting with other individuals can offer fresh insights, ideas, and expertise, which can greatly enhance the problem-solving process. Furthermore, clear and concise communication is essential in conveying the problem, proposed solutions, and implementation strategies to all relevant stakeholders. In conclusion, effective problem-solving is a multifaceted process that involves understanding the situation, exploring multiple perspectives, employing critical thinking and analysis, making decisions and implementing solutions, and cultivating collaboration and communication. By mastering these components, individuals and teams can successfully address various challenges and achieve their goals.

How can cultivating a positive attitude improve the overall problem-solving process?

Significance of a Positive Attitude Cultivating a positive attitude plays a vital role in enhancing the problem-solving process by fostering creativity and increasing motivation to succeed. When an individual approaches a problem with a positive mindset, they are more likely to engage in divergent thinking, where multiple solutions are explored to reach an optimal outcome (Isen, 2009). This perspective enables them to consider various alternative paths, leading to increased adaptability and a more manageable pathway towards resolution. Impact on Cognitive Abilities A positive attitude also enhances cognitive abilities, allowing individuals to effectively process information, identify patterns, and make logical connections (Fredrickson, 2004). By focusing on the potential for success, the brain can more efficiently organize and analyze relevant data, improving the quality of the decision-making process. Furthermore, optimism bolsters resilience and persistence, as individuals are more likely to view setbacks as temporary obstacles rather than insurmountable barriers (Seligman, 2006). Collaboration and Conflict Resolution Positive attitude extends beyond personal cognitive benefits and has the potential to improve group dynamics when solving complex problems collectively. By promoting a constructive environment, individuals are encouraged to share ideas, learn from others, and support their peers in formulating creative solutions (Amabile, 1996). Moreover, a positive attitude facilitates effective conflict resolution, as individuals are more predisposed to understand alternative viewpoints and collaborate to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes (Deutsch, 2000). Conclusion In conclusion, cultivating a positive attitude yields numerous benefits for the overall problem-solving process. By stimulating divergent thinking, enhancing cognitive abilities, and fostering effective collaboration among team members, individuals with a positive mindset can overcome challenges and develop innovative solutions. Therefore, embracing optimism and resilience significantly improves not only one’s personal problem-solving skills but also fosters a supportive environment where the collective intelligence thrives.

What are some practical strategies that can be employed to maintain a positive attitude while tackling complex problems?

Practical strategies for maintaining a positive attitude Cultivating a growth mindset One practical strategy for maintaining a positive attitude while tackling complex problems is cultivating a growth mindset. This involves embracing challenges, viewing failures as opportunities to learn and persisting in the face of obstacles. Setting smaller, achievable goals Another strategy is setting smaller, achievable goals. Breaking the complex problem down into manageable tasks helps make it less daunting and encourages progress. Completion of each smaller task provides a sense of accomplishment, motivating continued efforts. Adopting effective time management Implementing effective time management not only improves efficiency but also reduces stress. Prioritising tasks, setting realistic deadlines and incorporating breaks into the schedule ensures steady progress and protects against burnout. Emphasising mental and physical well-being Maintaining mental and physical well-being is crucial for sustaining a positive attitude. Prioritising sleep, nutrition, exercise and relaxation promotes a healthy mindset, better focus and increased resilience when faced with difficult problems. Surrounding oneself with positivity Our social environment can significantly impact our attitude. Surrounding oneself with positive, supportive and like-minded individuals helps create an uplifting environment conducive to problem-solving. Practicing self-compassion Recognising that everyone experiences occasional setbacks is essential for maintaining a positive attitude. Instead of being self-critical, practice self-compassion, accepting the present circumstances and focusing on what can be controlled and improved. Using positive affirmations Positive affirmations are statements that promote a positive mindset and stress resilience. Repeating these affirmations throughout the day can help boost self-esteem, motivation and overall attitude. Seeking external resources Lastly, seeking external resources like books, articles, online courses or even consulting with experts can provide valuable insights and tools for solving complex problems. These resources augment understanding and foster a sense of empowerment. In conclusion, incorporating various practical strategies such as cultivating a growth mindset, setting smaller goals, managing time effectively, prioritising well-being, surrounding oneself with positivity, practicing self-compassion, using positive affirmations and seeking external resources can help maintain a positive attitude while tackling complex problems. These approaches not only facilitate problem-solving but also improve overall resilience and well-being.

What are the factors that contribute to developing and maintaining a positive attitude during problem-solving?

Factors Influencing Positive Attitude Development Various factors contribute to developing and maintaining a positive attitude during problem-solving, which can enhance an individual's overall performance and success in finding effective solutions. These factors include cognitive, emotional, social, and environmental aspects. Cognitive Factors The cognitive factors involve an individual's inherent beliefs, perceptions, and thought patterns. A growth mindset, which embraces challenges and views effort as a pathway to improvement, is critical for fostering a positive attitude during problem-solving. Additionally, self-efficacy, or the belief in one's ability to achieve a desired outcome, can boost problem-solving efficiency and facilitate a positive attitude. Emotional Factors Positive emotions, like optimism and hope, play a vital role in maintaining a positive attitude during problem-solving. Optimism fosters resilience and encourages an individual to face challenges with a constructive approach. Further, hope promotes goal-directed thinking, adaptive coping strategies, and heightened motivation, which influence one's problem-solving attitude positively. Social Factors The social environment, including the presence of supportive peers, mentors, or supervisors, can contribute to a positive attitude development during problem-solving. Individuals in encouraging social contexts are more likely to feel confident and motivated to tackle challenges. Collaboration and teamwork can also facilitate diverse perspectives and creative solutions, promoting a constructive problem-solving attitude. Environmental Factors Lastly, the physical environment can impact an individual's attitude while addressing problems. A comfortable, organized, and functional workspace can foster focus, productivity, and a positive attitude. Additionally, implementing stress-relief techniques, such as regular breaks and stress-relieving activities, can foster a relaxed state of mind, essential for problem-solving. In conclusion, developing and maintaining a positive attitude during problem-solving involves a holistic approach that takes into account cognitive, emotional, social, and environmental factors. Cultivating a growth mindset, nurturing positive emotions, fostering supportive social connections, and optimizing the physical environment can significantly enhance an individual's problem-solving attitude and performance.

How do positive attitudes in problem-solving influence group dynamics and collaboration?

Impact on Group Dynamics Positive attitudes in problem-solving significantly affect group dynamics by fostering healthy communication channels, active participation, and commitment. With a solution-oriented mindset, group members tend to focus more on finding common ground, thereby minimizing conflicts and misunderstandings. As individuals distinctly acknowledge the potential of diverse perspectives in the resolution of complex tasks, they adopt a proactive approach to engaging with others. Enhancing Collaboration In addition, a positive problem-solving atmosphere promotes a sense of shared responsibility among group members. This feeling of connectedness paves the way for smooth collaboration, allowing individuals to leverage their strengths in achieving a shared objective. When group members support one another in overcoming challenges, they build trust and strengthen their interdependence, which is crucial for promoting a cohesive team culture. Promoting Creativity and Innovation Moreover, positive attitudes in problem-solving stimulate creativity and innovation within groups, as participants feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and thinking outside the box. By fostering an environment that celebrates diverse thinking and encourages open discussions, groups harness a wealth of knowledge that ultimately leads to the generation of novel solutions to complex issues. Encouraging Adaptability Furthermore, groups with a positive problem-solving outlook demonstrate high adaptability and resilience when encountering unexpected obstacles or setbacks. By focusing on solutions rather than dwelling on failure, members develop a sense of empowerment and determination. This, in turn, increases the group's overall capacity to develop and implement effective strategies that address the task at hand. Conclusion In summary, positive attitudes in problem-solving significantly influence group dynamics and collaboration by facilitating effective communication, fostering collective responsibility, stimulating creativity, and promoting adaptability. By cultivating a constructive and solution-oriented environment, groups can enhance their overall effectiveness and maximize their potential in achieving desired outcomes.

In what ways can fostering a positive attitude in problem-solving enhance creativity and innovation?

The Impact of a Positive Attitude Fostering a positive attitude in problem-solving significantly influences creativity and innovation within individuals and organizations. A positive mindset toward problem-solving allows the individual to explore more possibilities, yielding dynamic approaches for resolving issues. The Role of Cognitive Flexibility One crucial aspect of this influence is cognitive flexibility, which is the ability to think about a problem from multiple perspectives and generate diverse ideas. A positive attitude improves cognitive flexibility by encouraging individuals to focus on the potential benefits of generating innovative solutions, rather than dwelling on the difficulties faced in arriving at those solutions. This shift in focus enhances creative thinking by expanding the range of ideas and perspectives explored. Encouragement of Collaboration Additionally, a positive attitude promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members, fostering a synergistic environment that supports idea generation and innovation. When individuals approach problem-solving with optimism, they are more open to hearing and learning from others' perspectives, facilitating the exchange of valuable insights and ideas. Embracing Risk-taking and Uncertainty Furthermore, a positive mindset empowers individuals to embrace risks and uncertainties associated with innovative problem-solving. By considering setbacks and failures as opportunities for learning and improvement, individuals can develop resilience and adaptability, vital traits for creativity and innovation. A positive attitude toward problem-solving encourages experimentation and learning, cultivating a growth mindset that fuels innovation. Enhanced Motivation and Persistence Finally, a positive attitude bolsters motivation and persistence in the face of challenging problems. When individuals believe in their ability to find solutions and the potential value of their ideas, they become more passionate about the problem-solving process. They are more likely to continue exploring and refining ideas, resulting in an increase in creative output and the development of innovative solutions. In conclusion, fostering a positive attitude in problem-solving can greatly enhance creativity and innovation by supporting cognitive flexibility, encouraging collaboration, embracing risk-taking and uncertainty, and bolstering motivation and persistence. Therefore, individuals and organizations should invest in cultivating a positive outlook for improved problem-solving outcomes, driving overall success.

Yu Payne is an American professional who believes in personal growth. After studying The Art & Science of Transformational from Erickson College, she continuously seeks out new trainings to improve herself. She has been producing content for the IIENSTITU Blog since 2021. Her work has been featured on various platforms, including but not limited to: ThriveGlobal, TinyBuddha, and Addicted2Success. Yu aspires to help others reach their full potential and live their best lives.

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The Power of Positive Thinking

In problem solving...

In problem solving ...

How can the power of positive thinking change your approach to problem solving? Ask these 5 questions to change the way you solve problems.

In our series on problem solving methods we’ve already stressed two crucial principles:

• Firstly – start by finding the right problems to solve.
• Secondly – try to see every problem as an opportunity.

Both of these principles are understated ideas at the heart of effective problem solving, But they’re often missed in our rush towards finding a solution. So don’t overlook those crucial first stages when you are dealing with any problem. Use your problem solving skills to ask “is it the right problem to solve? Then consider “what opportunities are created by this problem?”

But how do you focus on opportunities? Well, perhaps by tapping into the power of positive thinking in problem solving – seeing problems as possibilities.

Looking for opportunities – the real power of positive thinking

This may sound a good idea but how do you find opportunities in problems? After all, the very word problem implies negativity. The key is to change your mind about how you view any situation. Take this story as a good example:

A month later each returned to report on their observations. Both executives noted that hardly anybody in the country they’d visited wore shoes.

The first executive was frustrated at a wasted journey, and reported that there was no demand for shoes, and therefore no sales opportunity. The second, full of enthusiasm, reported that as virtually nobody wore shoes, there was a vast untapped market and they should start shipping shoes immediately.

Ignoring any possible ethical considerations, this story illustrates a stark difference in viewpoint. Both executives saw the same situation but while one saw opportunities, the other saw only problems.

Seeing things differently is a characteristic of leadership we discuss in another article. Astute leadership begins with adopting a mindset which focuses on possibilities rather than on issues or problems. This possibility thinking is then translated into the right language: possibility speaking, by using questions such as:

• What if…?
• Wouldn’t it be great/wonderful if..?
• How might we…?

George Bernard Shaw’s famous quote epitomizes the power of positive thinking:

“Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?'”

5 Questions That Create Possibilities

“what if…”.

This question considers possibilities and offers options. Use the questions in our article Problem Solving Skill: Finding the Right Problems to Solve” to help you identify areas to investigate. What if we were able to…?

“Wouldn’t it be great …?”

Questions such as this lead us to construct a wish list. What things would we really like to be doing? “Wouldn’t it be great if we could conduct business the way we’d really like to do it?” Having a wish list is not just a flight of fancy. Especially if it encourages creative thinking and begins to prompt solutions…

“How might we …?”

“Why not / what’s stopping us?”

These questions provoke action. Why hasn’t something been done before? What’s stopping us from acting on this idea? Are there any assumptions we need to test? Where do we need more clarity? What are the potential benefits of doing this? What would it take to make this happen?

“What if our success was completely guaranteed?”

This final question perhaps offers the greatest potential for harnessing the power of positive thinking. What if we thought we couldn’t fail? What bold steps might we take?

Tips for Implementation

Here are some suggestions to help you encourage the power of positive thinking in your workplace. You could either work through them on your own, or arrange some special team meetings. Allow people to focus on the positive. Encourage possibility thinking and speaking, by valuing ideas. We stress the importance of this emphasis in our article: Leadership Concep t.

If you decide to use this activity with your team here is a possible process:

Aim: A creative but structured session on transforming problems into possibilities.

1 Start with a short story or quote, to set the scene. Try this one (explained in more detail in ‘Essence of Leadership’:

What could be a bigger problem than seeing your life’s work go up in flames. This is what happened to Thomas Edison, yet the way he viewed this disaster sums up the power of positive thinking:

There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew

2 Then, use the questions in our article Problem Solving Skill: Finding the Right Problems to Solve . These will facilitate a discussion on current and future issues or problems, and enable you to list the right problems to solve.

3 This next activity could follow on or be conducted as a separate second stage. It uses the power of positive thinking to encourage creativity. Once you’ve compiled your list of problems worth solving, apply all of the five “possibility questions” to each problem in turn.

• Wouldn’t it be great/wonderful if …?
• How might we …?
• Why not / what’s stopping us?
• What if our success was completely guaranteed?

4 Develop, feedback and summarize ideas and possibilities.

5 Decide beforehand on what you think the next actions from the session should be. This ensures that everybody leaves knowing what will happen next. For example, you may ask for volunteers to investigate ideas further and produce feasibility reports.

More ideas on problem solving

Once you’ve read this article, put our problem solving technique to good use with our great-value e-guide: What’s the Problem ?! A comprehensive guide to problem solving, complete with these 9 essential tools:

• Tool 1: When you don’t know what to do
• Tool 2: Defining questions for problem solving
• Tool 3: Finding the right problems to solve
• Tool 4: Problem solving check-list
• Tool 4a: Using the question check-list with your team
• Tool 5: Problem analysis in 4 steps
• Tool 5a: Using 4 Step problem analysis with your team
• Tool 6: Questions that create possibilities
• Tool 6a: Using the 5 questions with your team
• Tool 6b: Putting creativity to work – 5 alternate questions
• Tool 6c: Workshop outline
• Tool 7: Evaluating alternatives
• Tool 8: Creative thinking techniques A-Z
• Tool 9: The 5 Whys technique

Further Reading

Seven step problem solving Problem solving exercises Problem solving questions Problem solving activity

>>> Return to the Problem Solving Knowledge Hub

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A Positive Mood Allows Your Brain to Think More Creatively

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People who watch funny videos on the internet at work aren’t necessarily wasting time. They may be taking advantage of the latest psychological science—putting themselves in a good mood so they can think more creatively.

“Generally, positive mood has been found to enhance creative problem solving and flexible yet careful thinking,” says Ruby Nadler, a graduate student at the University of Western Ontario. She and colleagues Rahel Rabi and John Paul Minda carried out a new study published in Psychological Science , a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. For this study, Nadler and her colleagues looked at a particular kind of learning that is improved by creative thinking.

Students who took part in the study were put into different moods and then given a category learning task to do (they learned to classify sets of pictures with visually complex patterns). The researchers manipulated mood with help from music clips and video clips; first, they tried several out to find out what made people happiest and saddest. The happiest music was a peppy Mozart piece, and the happiest video was of a laughing baby. The researchers then used these in the experiment, along with sad music and video (a piece of music from Schindler’s List and a news report about an earthquake) and a piece of music and a video that didn’t affect mood. After listening to the music and watching the video, people had to try to learn to recognize a pattern.

Happy volunteers were better at learning a rule to classify the patterns than sad or neutral volunteers. “If you have a project where you want to think innovatively, or you have a problem to carefully consider, being in a positive mood can help you to do that,” Nadler says. And music is an easy way to get into a good mood. Everyone has a different type of music that works for them—don’t feel like you have to switch to Mozart, she says.

Nadler also thinks this may be a reason why people like to watch funny videos at work. “I think people are unconsciously trying to put themselves in a positive mood”—so that apparent time-wasting may actually be good news for employers.

That’s an awesome study! I always felt it when I was in a positive mood things were going better not only with myself but the mood itself changes things outside myself and was motivated to do things I always wanted to do!

I’ve been saying this for decades starting in 1992 at the University of Arkansas with the Challenged Conquistadors, Inc., I am so glad others are catching up & realizing my wisdom. This slowness has cost millions of lives to be harmed, with billions, if not trillions in healthcare. Positivism conquers negativism as Dr. Carmadese, MD, affirmed at the Americansim Foundation in the 1990’s but few listened to us in Arkansas, could they have had a false reason? Talk to the UAM Missionary Baptist Student Fellowship at, since 1992 board of directors!

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For more information about this research, please contact study author: Ruby Nadler

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How to develop a problem-solving mindset

May 14, 2023 Leaders today are confronted with more problems, of greater magnitude, than ever before. In these volatile times, it’s natural to react based on what’s worked best in the past. But when you’re solving the toughest business challenges on an ongoing basis, it’s crucial to start from a place of awareness. “If you are in an uncertain situation, the most important thing you can do is calm down,” says senior partner Aaron De Smet , who coauthored Deliberate Calm  with Jacqueline Brassey  and Michiel Kruyt. “Take a breath. Take stock. ‘Is the thing I’m about to do the right thing to do?’ And in many cases, the answer is no. If you were in a truly uncertain environment, if you’re in new territory, the thing you would normally do might not be the right thing.” Practicing deliberate calm not only prepares you to deal with the toughest problems, but it enhances the quality of your decisions, makes you more productive, and enables you to be a better leader. Check out these insights to learn how to develop a problem-solving mindset—and understand why the solution to any problem starts with you.

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How positive thinking makes you a better problem solver.

Posted by Joe Robinson

Bouncing back: Punching bags are good at it; humans, less so. A growing body of evidence, though, suggests you can ward off tailspins by building up your reserves of the best antidote to adversity: positive emotions, the hidden engine of resilience.

"We call it the 'undo effect,'" says Barbara Fredrickson, author of  Positivity  and a professor of psychology at the  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill , whose research has upended our understanding of a group of emotions that were once considered trifling but are now seen as central to persistence, innovation and success.

"Positive emotions help speed recovery from negative emotions," Fredrickson says. "When people are able to self-generate a positive emotion or perspective, that enables them to bounce back. It's not just that you bounce back and then you feel good--feeling good drives the process."

Negative emotions undermine the brain's capacity to think broadly and find creative solutions. The vise grip of fear and stress and the emotions they generate--anger, blame, panic, resentment, shame--limit thought to a narrow field that obscures options. In the work environment, negativity causes teams to lose flexibility and the ability to be curious. Positive emotions act as a seldom-used stress management tool.

"Losses loom larger than gains," Fredrickson explains. "Our mind is drawn into this mental time travel, and we're obsessing about something negative that happened in the past or we're worrying about what will happen in the future."

She has determined that you can reframe adversity and be more effective every day by countering negative loops with a buried resource--the well of joy, hope, amusement, gratitude, interest, appreciation, awe and other buoyant emotions we can call on as needed. These low-key assets have the power to calm blood pressure and operate as a kind of reset button for stress-addled minds and bodies. It's a kind of built-in well of work-life balance.

In one of her studies, test subjects whose anxiety was driven sky-high by an impending public speech were able to reverse negative cardiovascular effects in less than a minute by viewing relaxing imagery. They were shown a tranquil film clip of ocean waves, a puppy playing, a sad film or a neutral screen saver depicting an abstract display of lines. Sensors tracking heart rate, blood pressure and artery constriction showed that those watching the seemingly positive imagery recovered the fastest. Another study, this one based on daily reports of positive and negative emotions, found that the more positive emotions people experienced, the more their resilience levels grew, enabling them to let go of negative events faster.

A report Fredrickson co-wrote on bouncing back from business failures ("Beyond hubris: How highly confident entrepreneurs rebound to venture again") suggests that the resources generated by positive emotions can help people overcome setbacks and start new ventures. In fact, the report contends, positive emotions have been shown to help businesspeople negotiate better, improve decision-making, boost creativity and drive high-performance behavior.

"Positive emotions expand awareness and attention," Fredrickson says, which is critical for anyone looking for an opportunity or trying to solve a problem. "When you're able to take in more information, the peripheral vision field is expanded. You're able to connect the dots to the bigger picture. Instead of remembering just the most central event, you remember that and the peripheral aspects, too."

Working with mathematician Marcial Losada, Fredrickson has discovered a tipping point of positive-to-negative emotions that spells the difference between flourishing and floundering. "It seems like we need at least three positive emotions to open and lift us up to counter every single negative emotion that drags us down," she says. "The good news is that the positive emotions don't need to be intense or profound. They can be rather mild. They just need to be frequent."

One of the easiest ways to combat the negative tide is through appreciation or gratitude. Fredrickson advises asking yourself what in your current situation you could be treasuring that you're not. Connecting with someone over a shared interest or amusement is another superb way to shift out of the negative frame. Or step back when you've hit a wall and take a break. Bring some music into your day.

The three-to-one ratio isn't something you need to meet every hour or day, but over time, if you're making deposits to your positivity bank, you get a big dividend. "There's really solid evidence that the positive emotions you feel today predict tomorrow's and next week's and next month's success, health and quality relationships," Fredrickson says, "because they build your resources and resilience."

Tags: positive thinking , positive thinking and stress , work life balance tools , work life balance programs , work life balance , positive emotions , stress management

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• Tell me about your situation

How your attitude affects your problem solving skills

When you are frustrated, upset, or angry, you cannot problem-solve very well.

Guess what part of your brain is hijacking your normally calm, cool and collected self? The friggin’ amygdala is at it again. Fight, flight, freeze or fawn stuff. Those are the only options that we see when our amygdala is activated.

July 20, 2022

In Today's Blog

Friggin’ Amygdala and the Problem-solving Process

We know that the amygdala hijacks our abilities to make good decisions and lowers our ability to problem-solve because we cannot think about our true options. What about our attitudes? I am having a little trouble explaining attitude, so bear with me here. We each have assessments or judgments about “attitude object” We use words to describe what we like or do not like. Examples include, Like, prefer, love, do not like, hate, can’t stand, etc. We make these statements in relation to ourselves. “I like _____.” “I hate ____.” Attitudes are really evaluations that we make based on what is important to us. Our experiences are different and so our attitudes may be different too.

Attitudes are shaped by feelings and emotions. And another tidbit, emotion is sometimes the driving force behind our attitudes and behaviors.

There will be some things that you feel very strongly about. There will also be things that you don’t feel strongly about.

Structure of Attitudes

Attitude’s structure can be described in terms of three components.

• Affective component : this involves a person’s feelings/emotions about the attitude object. For example: “I am scared of spiders”.
• Behavioral  (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have influences on how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”.
• Cognitive  component: this involves a person’s belief/knowledge about an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.

This model is known as the  ABC model of attitudes .

Does a negative attitude affect problem-solving skills?

A negative attitude towards a problem makes it worse. When you think negatively, it only magnifies and deepens the emotional weight of “said problem.” You not only see the problem as a problem, you see it as an enemy or an attack on you. You can become overwhelmed and paralyzed. You know what comes next, don’t you? The downward spiral. Which makes the attitude and the problem much worse?

I like the Fish! Philosophy and want to share a little with you.

The FISH Philosophy to help problem solve

The FISH! Philosophy  doesn’t promote “correct” or “approved” attitudes over others. Every situation is unique. But it is important to mindfully  Choose Your Attitude . You may not control what happens to you, but you do get to decide how you respond to it.

Making a conscious choice isn’t easy, especially when a situation hijacks your emotions and drives you to react the same way you have hundreds of times before. It takes practice to take control of your response, instead of letting it control you.

Here are four tips to help you take charge and Choose Your Attitude:

1. Be aware of your inner voice External events may trigger your feelings, but only after they go through an internal filter called your inner voice. Your inner voice starts talking to you as soon as you wake up, issuing opinions about everything you see, hear, touch, smell and feel.

Your inner voice is rarely a neutral observer. It judges each experience through the likes and dislikes you have accumulated over a lifetime. It looks for evidence that you are right and the other person is wrong. It exaggerates how bad the situation is or imagines how it might go off track. Sometimes it puts other people down. Often it puts  you  down, questioning your talents and capabilities.

If you want to choose your attitude, not just react, you must challenge your inner voice. Catch it in the moment, then take a step back. Instead of just accepting what it is telling you, observe it as a neutral onlooker.

Just becoming aware that it is a voice, and what it is saying is one of several possible interpretations, helps you decide how much to believe it—and the best way to respond. 

2. What’s your goal? To mindfully choose how you respond to what life throws at you, you need a plan. Decide who you want to “be” today. Keep your goal top of mind. Select a few words that describe your intentions, such as “patient”, “open” or “helpful”. Focus on living those qualities.

Moment-to-moment awareness is key. Ask yourself throughout the day, “What is my attitude now? Is it helping me to be as effective as I can be? Is it helping the people who depend on me?”

Think ahead: What people or situations are likely to test your attitude today? What might push your buttons? Rehearse how you will respond. Reaffirm your goal and stay focused on the response that helps you achieve it.

Consider the long-term consequences of your reactions. Say a member of your team makes a bad mistake or you have a disagreement with them. Is the momentary satisfaction of tearing into them worth damaging your  relationship ? Disagreements and problems come and go, but your relationships are not so easily replaced.

3. Adopt a “growth” attitude Your attitudes are shaped by how you see others—and by how you see yourself.

People with a “fixed” attitude see their abilities as set and established. They know what they’re good at and view what they’re  not  good at as talents they  don’t  have the capacity to improve (“I could never learn that!” or “I wasn’t born with a brain for that!”).

People with a fixed mindset see tasks requiring them to step outside their comfort zones as threats. Confident in what they already excel at, they fear mistakes that might threaten their identity. They only pay attention to feedback and information that confirms their beliefs.

People with a growth  mindset  believe they can always improve their skills. It doesn’t mean you can do anything, like play in the NBA or be an opera star. It means you never know what more is possible for you and do not limit yourself before you try. It means seeing mistakes as a chance to learn and stretch yourself.

Studies show people with growth attitudes are more  engaged  and empowered. They handle change more successfully. They’re more flexible and open to seeing new solutions. In workplaces that support a growth attitude, people collaborate more and feel safe to try new approaches.

4. Challenge your assumptions It’s natural to assume the worst about other people’s motives and capabilities, especially if we don’t agree or connect positively with them. Believing they offer little of value to us, we usually try to avoid them—which doesn’t do much for  team  collaboration and camaraderie.

If you have a coworker or employee you think has a bad attitude or lack of motivation, move past your assumptions. Reach out. Find out why—not with accusations but with caring questions. You may learn they are dealing with a trying situation at home or work stresses you didn’t know about. Knowing this will help you respond to them more productively.

Treat them with a little kindness and encouragement and you may see a different side of them. Learn their perspective. Find out what they do well and seek their input. People tend to respond to you based on how you treat them. If not, you have chosen an attitude you can be proud of.

Back to problem-solving.

If you don’t see a problem as a disaster, you are more likely to be calm and think about your options. Are you open to looking at the problem as an opportunity? We like opportunities. Our brains like opportunities. Our brains like to brainstorm. Finding any and all possible solutions to our dilemma. Now, not everything thing will be a winner, but the whittling down comes a little later in the process.

Improve problem-solving skills

Would you like to be a more effective problem-solver? Then invite positivity into your environment. Positive attitudes increase creativity and problem-solving skills. A positive attitude also increases productivity.

• Some ways to create a positive attitude:
• Write down three things you are grateful for each day (not the same 3 things, either)
• Take breaks during your day
• Tell a few jokes, or watch a funny animal video
• Think about the ways to have a great morning and do them
• Don’t spread gossip, don’t listen to gossip
• Look forward to something outside of work
• Practice meditation, walk, work-out
• Have some “you time”- unwind, destress, play
• Listen to music, watch a funny TV show, read an uplifting or funny book
• Hang-out with positive people
• Be open to possibilities
• Stop the “stinking thinking”
• Sit with your feelings and acknowledge them
• Recharge your batteries
• Stop complaining
• Assume responsibility, choose your response

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10 Best Problem-Solving Therapy Worksheets & Activities

Cognitive science tells us that we regularly face not only well-defined problems but, importantly, many that are ill defined (Eysenck & Keane, 2015).

Sometimes, we find ourselves unable to overcome our daily problems or the inevitable (though hopefully infrequent) life traumas we face.

Problem-Solving Therapy aims to reduce the incidence and impact of mental health disorders and improve wellbeing by helping clients face life’s difficulties (Dobson, 2011).

This article introduces Problem-Solving Therapy and offers techniques, activities, and worksheets that mental health professionals can use with clients.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is problem-solving therapy, 14 steps for problem-solving therapy, 3 best interventions and techniques, 7 activities and worksheets for your session, fascinating books on the topic, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Problem-Solving Therapy assumes that mental disorders arise in response to ineffective or maladaptive coping. By adopting a more realistic and optimistic view of coping, individuals can understand the role of emotions and develop actions to reduce distress and maintain mental wellbeing (Nezu & Nezu, 2009).

“Problem-solving therapy (PST) is a psychosocial intervention, generally considered to be under a cognitive-behavioral umbrella” (Nezu, Nezu, & D’Zurilla, 2013, p. ix). It aims to encourage the client to cope better with day-to-day problems and traumatic events and reduce their impact on mental and physical wellbeing.

Clinical research, counseling, and health psychology have shown PST to be highly effective in clients of all ages, ranging from children to the elderly, across multiple clinical settings, including schizophrenia, stress, and anxiety disorders (Dobson, 2011).

Can it help with depression?

PST appears particularly helpful in treating clients with depression. A recent analysis of 30 studies found that PST was an effective treatment with a similar degree of success as other successful therapies targeting depression (Cuijpers, Wit, Kleiboer, Karyotaki, & Ebert, 2020).

Other studies confirm the value of PST and its effectiveness at treating depression in multiple age groups and its capacity to combine with other therapies, including drug treatments (Dobson, 2011).

The major concepts

Effective coping varies depending on the situation, and treatment typically focuses on improving the environment and reducing emotional distress (Dobson, 2011).

PST is based on two overlapping models:

Social problem-solving model

This model focuses on solving the problem “as it occurs in the natural social environment,” combined with a general coping strategy and a method of self-control (Dobson, 2011, p. 198).

The model includes three central concepts:

• Social problem-solving
• The problem
• The solution

The model is a “self-directed cognitive-behavioral process by which an individual, couple, or group attempts to identify or discover effective solutions for specific problems encountered in everyday living” (Dobson, 2011, p. 199).

Relational problem-solving model

The theory of PST is underpinned by a relational problem-solving model, whereby stress is viewed in terms of the relationships between three factors:

• Stressful life events
• Emotional distress and wellbeing
• Problem-solving coping

Therefore, when a significant adverse life event occurs, it may require “sweeping readjustments in a person’s life” (Dobson, 2011, p. 202).

• Enhance positive problem orientation
• Decrease negative orientation
• Foster ability to apply rational problem-solving skills
• Reduce the tendency to avoid problem-solving
• Minimize the tendency to be careless and impulsive

D’Zurilla’s and Nezu’s model includes (modified from Dobson, 2011):

• Initial structuring Establish a positive therapeutic relationship that encourages optimism and explains the PST approach.
• Assessment Formally and informally assess areas of stress in the client’s life and their problem-solving strengths and weaknesses.
• Obstacles to effective problem-solving Explore typically human challenges to problem-solving, such as multitasking and the negative impact of stress. Introduce tools that can help, such as making lists, visualization, and breaking complex problems down.
• Problem orientation – fostering self-efficacy Introduce the importance of a positive problem orientation, adopting tools, such as visualization, to promote self-efficacy.
• Problem orientation – recognizing problems Help clients recognize issues as they occur and use problem checklists to ‘normalize’ the experience.
• Problem orientation – seeing problems as challenges Encourage clients to break free of harmful and restricted ways of thinking while learning how to argue from another point of view.
• Problem orientation – use and control emotions Help clients understand the role of emotions in problem-solving, including using feelings to inform the process and managing disruptive emotions (such as cognitive reframing and relaxation exercises).
• Problem orientation – stop and think Teach clients how to reduce impulsive and avoidance tendencies (visualizing a stop sign or traffic light).
• Problem definition and formulation Encourage an understanding of the nature of problems and set realistic goals and objectives.
• Generation of alternatives Work with clients to help them recognize the wide range of potential solutions to each problem (for example, brainstorming).
• Decision-making Encourage better decision-making through an improved understanding of the consequences of decisions and the value and likelihood of different outcomes.
• Solution implementation and verification Foster the client’s ability to carry out a solution plan, monitor its outcome, evaluate its effectiveness, and use self-reinforcement to increase the chance of success.
• Guided practice Encourage the application of problem-solving skills across multiple domains and future stressful problems.
• Rapid problem-solving Teach clients how to apply problem-solving questions and guidelines quickly in any given situation.

Success in PST depends on the effectiveness of its implementation; using the right approach is crucial (Dobson, 2011).

Problem-solving therapy – Baycrest

The following interventions and techniques are helpful when implementing more effective problem-solving approaches in client’s lives.

First, it is essential to consider if PST is the best approach for the client, based on the problems they present.

Is PPT appropriate?

It is vital to consider whether PST is appropriate for the client’s situation. Therapists new to the approach may require additional guidance (Nezu et al., 2013).

Therapists should consider the following questions before beginning PST with a client (modified from Nezu et al., 2013):

• Has PST proven effective in the past for the problem? For example, research has shown success with depression, generalized anxiety, back pain, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and supporting caregivers (Nezu et al., 2013).
• Is PST acceptable to the client?
• Is the individual experiencing a significant mental or physical health problem?

All affirmative answers suggest that PST would be a helpful technique to apply in this instance.

Five problem-solving steps

The following five steps are valuable when working with clients to help them cope with and manage their environment (modified from Dobson, 2011).

Ask the client to consider the following points (forming the acronym ADAPT) when confronted by a problem:

• Attitude Aim to adopt a positive, optimistic attitude to the problem and problem-solving process.
• Define Obtain all required facts and details of potential obstacles to define the problem.
• Alternatives Identify various alternative solutions and actions to overcome the obstacle and achieve the problem-solving goal.
• Predict Predict each alternative’s positive and negative outcomes and choose the one most likely to achieve the goal and maximize the benefits.
• Try out Once selected, try out the solution and monitor its effectiveness while engaging in self-reinforcement.

If the client is not satisfied with their solution, they can return to step ‘A’ and find a more appropriate solution.

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Positive self-statements

When dealing with clients facing negative self-beliefs, it can be helpful for them to use positive self-statements.

Use the following (or add new) self-statements to replace harmful, negative thinking (modified from Dobson, 2011):

• I can solve this problem; I’ve tackled similar ones before.
• I can cope with this.
• I just need to take a breath and relax.
• Once I start, it will be easier.
• It’s okay to look out for myself.
• I can get help if needed.
• Other people feel the same way I do.
• I’ll take one piece of the problem at a time.
• I can keep my fears in check.
• I don’t need to please everyone.

5 Worksheets and workbooks

Problem-solving self-monitoring form.

Answering the questions in the Problem-Solving Self-Monitoring Form provides the therapist with necessary information regarding the client’s overall and specific problem-solving approaches and reactions (Dobson, 2011).

Ask the client to complete the following:

• Describe the problem you are facing.
• What is your goal?
• What have you tried so far to solve the problem?
• What was the outcome?

Reactions to Stress

It can be helpful for the client to recognize their own experiences of stress. Do they react angrily, withdraw, or give up (Dobson, 2011)?

The Reactions to Stress worksheet can be given to the client as homework to capture stressful events and their reactions. By recording how they felt, behaved, and thought, they can recognize repeating patterns.

What Are Your Unique Triggers?

Helping clients capture triggers for their stressful reactions can encourage emotional regulation.

When clients can identify triggers that may lead to a negative response, they can stop the experience or slow down their emotional reaction (Dobson, 2011).

The What Are Your Unique Triggers ? worksheet helps the client identify their triggers (e.g., conflict, relationships, physical environment, etc.).

Problem-Solving worksheet

Imagining an existing or potential problem and working through how to resolve it can be a powerful exercise for the client.

Use the Problem-Solving worksheet to state a problem and goal and consider the obstacles in the way. Then explore options for achieving the goal, along with their pros and cons, to assess the best action plan.

Getting the Facts

Clients can become better equipped to tackle problems and choose the right course of action by recognizing facts versus assumptions and gathering all the necessary information (Dobson, 2011).

Use the Getting the Facts worksheet to answer the following questions clearly and unambiguously:

• Who is involved?
• What did or did not happen, and how did it bother you?
• Where did it happen?
• When did it happen?
• Why did it happen?
• How did you respond?

2 Helpful Group Activities

While therapists can use the worksheets above in group situations, the following two interventions work particularly well with more than one person.

Generating Alternative Solutions and Better Decision-Making

A group setting can provide an ideal opportunity to share a problem and identify potential solutions arising from multiple perspectives.

Use the Generating Alternative Solutions and Better Decision-Making worksheet and ask the client to explain the situation or problem to the group and the obstacles in the way.

Once the approaches are captured and reviewed, the individual can share their decision-making process with the group if they want further feedback.

Visualization

Visualization can be performed with individuals or in a group setting to help clients solve problems in multiple ways, including (Dobson, 2011):

• Clarifying the problem by looking at it from multiple perspectives
• Rehearsing a solution in the mind to improve and get more practice
• Visualizing a ‘safe place’ for relaxation, slowing down, and stress management

Guided imagery is particularly valuable for encouraging the group to take a ‘mental vacation’ and let go of stress.

Ask the group to begin with slow, deep breathing that fills the entire diaphragm. Then ask them to visualize a favorite scene (real or imagined) that makes them feel relaxed, perhaps beside a gently flowing river, a summer meadow, or at the beach.

The more the senses are engaged, the more real the experience. Ask the group to think about what they can hear, see, touch, smell, and even taste.

Encourage them to experience the situation as fully as possible, immersing themselves and enjoying their place of safety.

Such feelings of relaxation may be able to help clients fall asleep, relieve stress, and become more ready to solve problems.

We have included three of our favorite books on the subject of Problem-Solving Therapy below.

1. Problem-Solving Therapy: A Treatment Manual – Arthur Nezu, Christine Maguth Nezu, and Thomas D’Zurilla

This is an incredibly valuable book for anyone wishing to understand the principles and practice behind PST.

Written by the co-developers of PST, the manual provides powerful toolkits to overcome cognitive overload, emotional dysregulation, and the barriers to practical problem-solving.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. Emotion-Centered Problem-Solving Therapy: Treatment Guidelines – Arthur Nezu and Christine Maguth Nezu

Another, more recent, book from the creators of PST, this text includes important advances in neuroscience underpinning the role of emotion in behavioral treatment.

Along with clinical examples, the book also includes crucial toolkits that form part of a stepped model for the application of PST.

3. Handbook of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies – Keith Dobson and David Dozois

This is the fourth edition of a hugely popular guide to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies and includes a valuable and insightful section on Problem-Solving Therapy.

This is an important book for students and more experienced therapists wishing to form a high-level and in-depth understanding of the tools and techniques available to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists.

For even more tools to help strengthen your clients’ problem-solving skills, check out the following free worksheets from our blog.

• Case Formulation Worksheet This worksheet presents a four-step framework to help therapists and their clients come to a shared understanding of the client’s presenting problem.
• Understanding Your Default Problem-Solving Approach This worksheet poses a series of questions helping clients reflect on their typical cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to problems.
• Social Problem Solving: Step by Step This worksheet presents a streamlined template to help clients define a problem, generate possible courses of action, and evaluate the effectiveness of an implemented solution.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, check out this signature collection of 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

17 Top-Rated Positive Psychology Exercises for Practitioners

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While we are born problem-solvers, facing an incredibly diverse set of challenges daily, we sometimes need support.

Problem-Solving Therapy aims to reduce stress and associated mental health disorders and improve wellbeing by improving our ability to cope. PST is valuable in diverse clinical settings, ranging from depression to schizophrenia, with research suggesting it as a highly effective treatment for teaching coping strategies and reducing emotional distress.

Many PST techniques are available to help improve clients’ positive outlook on obstacles while reducing avoidance of problem situations and the tendency to be careless and impulsive.

The PST model typically assesses the client’s strengths, weaknesses, and coping strategies when facing problems before encouraging a healthy experience of and relationship with problem-solving.

Why not use this article to explore the theory behind PST and try out some of our powerful tools and interventions with your clients to help them with their decision-making, coping, and problem-solving?

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Cuijpers, P., Wit, L., Kleiboer, A., Karyotaki, E., & Ebert, D. (2020). Problem-solving therapy for adult depression: An updated meta-analysis. European P sychiatry ,  48 (1), 27–37.
• Dobson, K. S. (2011). Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
• Dobson, K. S., & Dozois, D. J. A. (2021). Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies  (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
• Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive psychology: A student’s handbook . Psychology Press.
• Nezu, A. M., & Nezu, C. M. (2009). Problem-solving therapy DVD . Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/pubs/videos/4310852
• Nezu, A. M., & Nezu, C. M. (2018). Emotion-centered problem-solving therapy: Treatment guidelines. Springer.
• Nezu, A. M., Nezu, C. M., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (2013). Problem-solving therapy: A treatment manual . Springer.

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6 Steps To Develop A Problem-Solving Mindset That Boosts Productivity

Problem-controlled approach vs. problem-solving approach, benefits of a problem-solving mindset, 6 steps to develop a problem-solving mindset, characteristics of a manager with a problem-solving mindset, problem-solving mindset examples for managers, frequently asked questions.

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What is a problem-solving mindset?

• Better decision-making:  A problem-solving mindset helps managers analyze problems more effectively and generate various possible solutions. This leads to more informed decision-making , which is critical for effective leadership.
• Improved productivity:  By addressing problems proactively, managers can prevent potential obstacles from becoming major issues that impact productivity . A problem-solving mindset can help managers to anticipate and prevent problems before they occur, leading to smoother operations and higher productivity.
• Enhanced teamwork:  Encouraging a problem-solving mindset among team members fosters a culture of collaboration and encourages open communication. This can lead to stronger teamwork , as team members are more likely to work together to identify and solve problems.
• Improved morale:  When managers take a proactive approach to problem-solving, they demonstrate their commitment to their team’s success. This can improve morale and build trust and respect between managers and team members.
• Better outcomes:  Ultimately, a problem solving mindset leads to better outcomes. By effectively identifying and addressing problems, managers can improve processes, reduce costs, and enhance overall performance.
• Acknowledge the issue:   Instead of avoiding or dismissing the problem, the first step in adopting a problem-solving mindset is to embrace it. Accept the problem and commit to trying to find a solution.
• Focus on the solutions:  Shift your attention from the problem to the solution by concentrating on it. Then, work towards the result by visualizing it.
• Come up with all possible solutions:  Create a list of all potential answers, even those that appear unusual or out of the ordinary. Avoid dismissing ideas prematurely and encourage creative thinking.
• Analyze the root cause:  After coming up with a list of viable solutions. Finding the fundamental reason enables you to solve the problem and stop it from happening again.
• Take on a new perspective:  Sometimes, a new viewpoint might result in game-breakthrough solutions.  Consider looking at the problem differently, considering other people’s perspectives, or questioning your presumptions.
• Implement solutions and monitor them:    Choose the best course of action, then implement it. Keep an eye on the findings and make changes as needed. Use what you learn from the process to sharpen your problem-solving skills.

• Positive attitude:  A problem-solving manager approaches challenges with a positive and proactive mindset, focused on solutions rather than problems.
• Analytical thinking:  A problem-solving manager breaks down complex challenges into smaller, more manageable pieces and identifies the underlying causes of difficulties because of their strong analytical skills .
• Creativity:  A manager with a problem solving mindset think outside the box to solve difficulties and problems.
• Flexibility:  A manager with a problem-solving mindset can change their problem-solving strategy depending on the circumstances. They are receptive to new ideas and other viewpoints.
• Collaboration:  A manager who prioritizes problem-solving understands the value of collaboration and teamwork. They value team members’ feedback and are skilled at bringing diverse perspectives together to develop creative solutions.
• Strategic thinking:  A problem-solving manager thinks strategically , considering the long-term consequences of their decisions and solutions. They can balance short-term fixes with long-term objectives.
• Continuous improvement:  A problem-solving manager is dedicated to continuous improvement, always looking for new ways to learn and improve their problem-solving skills. They use feedback and analysis to improve their approach and achieve better results.
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• A manager listens actively to a team member’s concerns and identifies the root cause of a problem before brainstorming potential solutions.
• A manager encourages team members to collaborate and share ideas to solve a challenging problem.
• A manager takes a proactive approach to address potential obstacles, anticipating challenges and taking steps to prevent them from becoming major issues.
• A manager analyzes data and feedback to identify patterns and insights that can inform more effective problem-solving.
• A manager uses various tools and techniques, such as brainstorming , SWOT analysis, or root cause analysis, to identify and address problems.
• To inform about problem-solving, a manager seeks input and feedback from various sources, including team members, stakeholders, and subject matter experts.
• A manager encourages experimentation and risk-taking, fostering a culture of innovation and creativity.
• A manager takes ownership of problems rather than blaming others or deflecting responsibility.
• A manager is willing to admit mistakes and learn from failures rather than become defensive or dismissive.
• A manager focuses on finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems or obstacles.
• A manager can adapt and pivot as needed, being flexible and responsive to changing circumstances or new information.

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10 Wise Ways for Positive Problem Solving

Some of us seem able to make decisions effortlessly as soon as they arise—for others, the decision presents as a problem. We can all learn how to make decisions quickly and solve problems easily.  Here are 10 techniques for positive problem solving used by confident people.

It’s vital that you do all your thinking in writing.

So where do you start.

The first step is to sort out the soup, so you can see what you’re dealing with. Just like taking everything out of the cupboard so that you can separate the junk from things you want to keep.

The trouble is, it’s not so easy to see what’s there, because you’re so used to all that rubbish swimming around in your head.

That’s where mindfulness practice comes in. That means taking a moment at regular intervals to notice what you’re thinking in that moment. It helps to write down your thoughts, because it helps you identify negative thinking or repeated thoughts that have become habits.

When you’re practising mindfulness, you don’t try to change the thought or get rid of it. You accept that it’s there and you let it be. Acceptance is what helps you be at peace even with negative thoughts. The point of mindfulness is to notice. That’s all. Just notice.

If you do this at regular intervals for just one minute at a time, you’ll develop your awareness and it becomes automatic. One minute at a time is no big deal. Reminding yourself to do it several times a day is the big deal.

The second step involves sorting out which thoughts are worries about pressing problems, which might need to be dealt with first, which ones are defeatist, self-critical thoughts, and which ones are old hurts you can’t let go of. There might be a whole lot of other stuff going on, but that’s a start.

Alright, so you’re aware of what you’re thinking. Now what?

One thing I’ve learnt from observing successful people is that they do all their thinking in writing.

1 do proper research.

The first step to any problem-solving exercise is to collect as much data as possible before your sit down to wrestle with your dilemma.

Too many of try to find solutions when we don’t have the right facts. It’s too easy to overlook something important.

Find answers to all possible angles of the 5Ws: Who, why, what (or which), when, and where.

For example, who is to do what bit, when and where they must go to do it.

Or who will be impacted by your decision, and whom should be consulted, at least to get them on side.

2 Take your time and set aside time If you try to find a solution while you’re engaged in another activity, you’ll only end up confused and depressed.

Your problem ends up occupying all your brain-space and stopping you from concentrating on anything else.

Instead, pick a time to concentrate only on mulling over one issue and not on anything else.

Does it matter what time you select? Yes. We all have times of the day when our brains function at their peak.

There are three natural high-energy times. Experiment until you find the one that best suits you.

The first option is immediately on rising. When you wake up, your relaxed mind is still working on the same wave-length that created your dreams.

Instead of leaping out of bed, give yourself 15 minutes or so to work on your problem.

Those who like morning showers often find those moments, before they’re fully awake, to be hugely productive for clear thinking.

The second option is at the other end of the day. After you’ve closed your mind to work or study priorities, your brain will automatically shift gear into a creative state.

The effectiveness of that end of the day depends on how tired and wound up you are. You might need a relaxation or meditation process before your mind can shift gear.

The third option is immediately before going to sleep. As you begin to get drowsy, the creative mind takes over again.

Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual and focus on your problem then. Write in your journal.

It won’t necessarily keep you awake either—it allows you to clear your mind and induces sleep more easily.

If those times are not convenient for you, at least allocate some time when you can get right away from interruptions.

3 Brain-storm This is an oldie but a goodie. There are two ways you could do this. The first is in a true brain-storm style.

Call in trusted family and friends (those with appropriate experience) and invite them to call out whatever ideas occur.

This must be done in a group, because new ideas grow out of ones already tossed into the melting-pot.

Remember that no criticism is allowed of any idea. You want people to generate, not defend their ideas.

The emphasis is on the quantity of ideas, not the quality.

If your problem is too confidential for this, you can do your own brain-storming in writing.

Write down every single thing that occurs to you, no matter how idiotic it might seem at first.

We’re trying to be creative here, not stifling. Once you’ve done a ‘brain dump’, you can sort out which options are viable and which not.

4 Reverse the problem Edward de Bono, expert on lateral thinking techniques, teaches this one. The example he uses is this: A truck is driving down a narrow country road. It’s stopped by a flock of sheep. Problem: how to get past?

The conventional solution would be to drive around the sheep. But that is both slow and dangerous—the truck might get stuck on the side of the road, or some sheep might get hurt in the process.

The reverse solution—instead of getting the truck past the sheep, you get the sheep past the truck. The driver stops the vehicle, turns the flock around, and leads it past the stationery vehicle.

The advantage of reversal as a problem-solving technique is that it frees you from old ways of looking at a problem.

5 Redefine the problem The solution to a problem often depends on the way in which it’s stated. If you define it narrowly, you’ll get only narrow, limited answers. Redefining it often opens up a whole range of possibilities.

‘How can I afford a new dress for the dance’ becomes ‘How can I look my best?’

I once turned up for a British military ball (a very formal, elegant affair, with officers in full ceremonial uniform) dressed in a sheet. Don’t laugh, it’s all I could afford.

I bought a pink-and-white candy-striped single sheet. I cut it to size so that I could wrap it around me, tucked into a bustier.

With a ribbon tied under the bust to give it shape, it had a Jane Austin air about it. I used to wear my hair up in those days—hey—it worked, and my date loved it.

Another example: ‘Why don’t I ever get more interesting work?’ can be redefined as ‘How can I increase my skills so that I can upgrade the kind of work I’m given?’

‘How can we make the family car available to everybody who needs it?’ redefines as ‘How can we meet our needs without using the car?’

Get the idea? Sometimes we struggle with something that isn’t really the problem, but is only a small part of a larger problem.

When we take the time to redefine the situation, entirely new and more helpful solutions may immediately spring to mind.

At least you won’t be wasting time finding an elegant solution for the wrong problem.

6 Plan for results The best way to solve a problem is to first outline the result you want, then work backwards to find the best solution for that result. This isn’t as complex as it might sound.

For instance, instead of trying to decide what job you should consider next, you would begin by working out what you want for yourself in, say, five years’ time.

If you want to end up there, what experience do you need this year, this month, this week, to get you there within five years?

Once the goal or outcome has been defined, the problem is halfway to being solved.

Always begin with where you want to end up.

7 Break the routine Don’t allow old habits to make you blind to new solutions. Breaking the routine to your day may break the back of many problems too.

A woman in one of my public workshops was under a lot of stress because her day was not productive. She ran her own business, so time was money to her.

She was battling to get up early in the morning for an earlier start to her day, but found she couldn’t get going until early afternoon.

If she tried to get to bed earlier so that she could wake up earlier, her natural body clock wouldn’t let her sleep.

Solution—she lived alone, so there was no reason she couldn’t start and end her days at different times to suit her.

Why fit into a mould in which you don’t belong, especially if you don’t need to consider anyone else?

8 Turn a minus into a plus When you have something with an apparent drawback, don’t fight against it, enhance it. Like Barbra Streisand did with her nose!

Or like I did. For years, I was trying to hide the fact that I’d experienced a serious nervous breakdown, amnesia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eventually, I realised my experiences were an asset, because they gave me the knowledge, the empathy and credibility that clients valued.

In my work of helping people find their way through overwhelming obstacles, I couldn’t wish for better experiences.

9 Be an optimist Too many of us, when confronted with a difficulty, give up before we’ve even begun. By assuming the worst or by accepting failure, we only ensure failure.

You’ve heard how important it is to view an obstacle as a challenge or an opportunity. Don’t tell yourself ‘I’ll never get this promotion.’

Ask yourself instead ‘How can I prepare myself to be ready for this promotion?’

Similarly, if you believe you’ll never find a partner, you may get stuck in a rut and with an attitude that will not attract a new relationship.

If, instead, you focus on creating a fulfilling social life in which you are confident, feeling your best, and able to make interesting conversation, you are better able to enjoy life, as well as being more likely to find the right partner.

10 Don’t give up! It may be corny, but it’s true: ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try TRY again.

That’s been my lifetime attitude and has governed my approach to life.

I would never have been able to drag myself out of my hole had it not been for my determination to keep trying—keep finding a way to solve my problems, which often seemed daunting.

In fact, it was this attitude that led to my business name: ‘Wise Ways’.

My thinking is that there’s always a way somewhere out there. All you have to do is keep searching until you find a way.

And if you can’t find a way to solve your problem, create one.

If you feel you need assistance with positive problem solving, please contact me directly to arrange a convenient appointment time.

I’d love to know what you think of what I’ve said here. You can give me your feedback, ask a question by email or post a comment below.

If you or someone you know would like a personal consultation, please call +61 439 969 081.

Take charge of your life with Jacquie Wise.

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Any information presented on our website is of a general nature only and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice.

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Jacquie Wise has many articles available for reprinting in your newsletter, website, social media or to pass on to your friends (including this post) that she would be happy for you to share. You can share a direct hyperlink to this post’s URL at anytime.

If you would like to reproduce any articles, Jacquie relies on your integrity to quote the content in its entirety and include the following acknowledgment at the end:  ©  Jacquie Wise  – Integrative Coach, Counsellor, Speaker, Trainer and Author, specialising in life, love, work and soul ( www.wiseways.com.au )

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Overview of the Problem-Solving Mental Process

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

• Identify the Problem
• Define the Problem
• Form a Strategy
• Organize Information
• Allocate Resources
• Monitor Progress
• Evaluate the Results

Frequently Asked Questions

Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue.

The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything they can about the issue and then using factual knowledge to come up with a solution. In other instances, creativity and insight are the best options.

It is not necessary to follow problem-solving steps sequentially, It is common to skip steps or even go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.

In order to correctly solve a problem, it is often important to follow a series of steps. Researchers sometimes refer to this as the problem-solving cycle. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially, people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution.

The following steps include developing strategies and organizing knowledge.

1. Identifying the Problem

While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.

Some strategies that you might use to figure out the source of a problem include :

• Asking questions about the problem
• Breaking the problem down into smaller pieces
• Looking at the problem from different perspectives
• Conducting research to figure out what relationships exist between different variables

2. Defining the Problem

After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be solved. You can define a problem by operationally defining each aspect of the problem and setting goals for what aspects of the problem you will address

At this point, you should focus on figuring out which aspects of the problems are facts and which are opinions. State the problem clearly and identify the scope of the solution.

3. Forming a Strategy

After the problem has been identified, it is time to start brainstorming potential solutions. This step usually involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging their quality. Once several possibilities have been generated, they can be evaluated and narrowed down.

The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the individual's unique preferences. Common problem-solving strategies include heuristics and algorithms.

• Heuristics are mental shortcuts that are often based on solutions that have worked in the past. They can work well if the problem is similar to something you have encountered before and are often the best choice if you need a fast solution.
• Algorithms are step-by-step strategies that are guaranteed to produce a correct result. While this approach is great for accuracy, it can also consume time and resources.

Heuristics are often best used when time is of the essence, while algorithms are a better choice when a decision needs to be as accurate as possible.

4. Organizing Information

Before coming up with a solution, you need to first organize the available information. What do you know about the problem? What do you not know? The more information that is available the better prepared you will be to come up with an accurate solution.

When approaching a problem, it is important to make sure that you have all the data you need. Making a decision without adequate information can lead to biased or inaccurate results.

5. Allocating Resources

Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time, and other resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how high priority it is.

If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too much of your available resources on coming up with a solution.

At this stage, it is important to consider all of the factors that might affect the problem at hand. This includes looking at the available resources, deadlines that need to be met, and any possible risks involved in each solution. After careful evaluation, a decision can be made about which solution to pursue.

6. Monitoring Progress

After selecting a problem-solving strategy, it is time to put the plan into action and see if it works. This step might involve trying out different solutions to see which one is the most effective.

It is also important to monitor the situation after implementing a solution to ensure that the problem has been solved and that no new problems have arisen as a result of the proposed solution.

Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work towards a solution. If they are not making good progress toward reaching their goal, they will reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies .

7. Evaluating the Results

After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of treatment.

Once a problem has been solved, it is important to take some time to reflect on the process that was used and evaluate the results. This will help you to improve your problem-solving skills and become more efficient at solving future problems.

A Word From Verywell​

It is important to remember that there are many different problem-solving processes with different steps, and this is just one example. Problem-solving in real-world situations requires a great deal of resourcefulness, flexibility, resilience, and continuous interaction with the environment.

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how you can stop dwelling in a negative mindset.

Follow Now : Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

You can become a better problem solving by:

• Practicing brainstorming and coming up with multiple potential solutions to problems
• Being open-minded and considering all possible options before making a decision
• Breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable pieces
• Asking for help when needed
• Researching different problem-solving techniques and trying out new ones
• Learning from mistakes and using them as opportunities to grow

It's important to communicate openly and honestly with your partner about what's going on. Try to see things from their perspective as well as your own. Work together to find a resolution that works for both of you. Be willing to compromise and accept that there may not be a perfect solution.

Take breaks if things are getting too heated, and come back to the problem when you feel calm and collected. Don't try to fix every problem on your own—consider asking a therapist or counselor for help and insight.

If you've tried everything and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix the problem, you may have to learn to accept it. This can be difficult, but try to focus on the positive aspects of your life and remember that every situation is temporary. Don't dwell on what's going wrong—instead, think about what's going right. Find support by talking to friends or family. Seek professional help if you're having trouble coping.

Davidson JE, Sternberg RJ, editors.  The Psychology of Problem Solving .  Cambridge University Press; 2003. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615771

Sarathy V. Real world problem-solving .  Front Hum Neurosci . 2018;12:261. Published 2018 Jun 26. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00261

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Ashley Rachel

Benefits of Positive Thinking: 5 Ways to Handle Problems with a Positive Mindset

Today I’m bringing you a guest post from Nandita of Nandyz Soulshine. She’s a growth and positive mindset blogger, wellness enthusiast, and a free-willed artist. She enjoys sharing her hard-earned life lessons and hindsights with others to help them understand themselves better and live a more fulfilling life. If you’ve been struggling to solve problems with a positive mindset, I think you’ll enjoy this post!

“It’s not the situation, but whether we react negative or respond positive to the situation that is important.” – Zig Ziglar

What is your first reaction when faced with a problem or challenge? Maybe your reaction is to shut down and start complaining. Or maybe you start to feel stressed, but still go ahead and give your best to figure it out. Or maybe you even get excited when faced with a new challenge because you’re ready to try and conquer it! If you answered yes to the latter two options, you probably have a positive mindset. Way to go!

You might be amazed at how much research has been done by behavioral scientists on the power of positive thinking. Studies show evidence that positive thinking leads to improved focus, attention, resilience, and better overall wellbeing and health.

While having a positive mindset is something to be proud about, we shouldn’t discount negative emotions all together. It’s important to note that ignoring or suppressing your negative feelings can lead to unhealthy outcomes. These negative feelings, when ignored, can build up and come out in unhealthy ways, such as emotional outbursts or anger.

So if you’re feeling negatively, make sure to acknowledge your feelings, allow yourself to feel them for a short while, and then do your best to move forward by thinking positively.

And even if you’re not naturally a positive thinker, the good news is that a positive attitude can be cultivated. Let’s discuss how it can be well worth the effort for you.

What is positive thinking?

Positive thinking is being able to see both the negative & positive sides of a situation, but deciding to focus on the constructive one. It’s focusing more on the possible solutions to a problem than on the probable negative outcomes of the situation.

Alphonse Karr puts it very neatly as, “we can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”

In real life, it would look something like this. Say, for example, you’re stuck in traffic and running late for office the third time this week. It’s stressing you out because of the work that would be piling up, how the boss would blow up, joining important meetings late, & so on. In a situation like this, it’s very easy to start thinking negatively.

If you have a positive mindset, you might –

• Make it a point to rearrange your morning routine in a way so you can start a bit earlier or maybe select a longer route with less traffic.
• Make the most of your time stuck in traffic by mentally planning out the details of your day ahead, such as reports to write, presentations to be given, tasks to be delegated, etc.
• Use this stuck-in-traffic time to practice your daily mindful breathing to calm yourself down and feel more centered and grounded before going into work.

With a positive mindset, you would basically make the best of the situation & learn from it so as to avoid being in the same situation again.

What’s the importance of positive thinking?

The opposite of positive thinking is negative thinking, right? Consistent negative thinking can put you into a bad mood, cause you to feel stressed , and may even put your mind into a fight-or-flight mode. A stress reaction can be helpful if you’re in an actual danger zone, but if not, can be harmful to your health.

When prone to negative thoughts, you focus more on the issue of danger and you may start overthinking and worrying about all that could go wrong. This can be harmful to your wellbeing for three main reasons:

• When you live with a constant sense of foreboding, stress and anxiety can build up.
• Stress can cloud your view & judgment. Rather than having a problem-solving attitude where you focus on a variety of possible solutions, you may be quick to focus only on the immediate way out. This is because it’s difficult for the brain to take in new information or be creative when you’re stressed.
• As a result of negative thinking and stress, you may lose motivation to try new things or find other possible solutions to your problems.

Here are some tips for thinking more positively:

• Try to focus on all of the positive solutions available, while staying aware of the possible danger zones along the way.
• Stay realistic about the situation and open to learning anything new that would help you handle the situation better.
• Even if you fail, remember that it’s always a learning episode. Take your lesson learned, tweak your approach to the problem, try again until you succeed.
• Try meditation. Research done by psychology researcher, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson , has shown that people who meditate regularly are more positive in their approach to life. But if the thought of sitting still for even 10 minutes makes you fidgety, try mindfulness instead. You may find it easier to practice & to fit into your busy day.

Keep in mind that the type of self-talk we feed our brain every day has the power to color every action, decision, & the kind of life that gets built in the process.

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.” –  Buddha

So how does positive thinking upgrade your life?

5 Benefits of Positive Thinking

1. better stress management.

A reasonable dose of stress can be good for your focus, performance, & enthusiasm for life. Plus, stress is pretty unavoidable in today’s life unless you live under a rock. But it’s important to keep stress at a healthy level to avoid overwhelm & health problems.

When we approach problems with a positive attitude, instead of focusing on the quicksand surrounding it, we focus more on finding the best way out of it. The success will motivate you to face more challenges because your brain will see it as a reward.

Stress management is one of the biggest benefits of positive thinking. And what better way to cope with stress than to use it to your benefit?

2. Higher Self-Worth:

Positive thinking can lead to a higher self-worth. One reason is because when you’re thinking negatively, you may be unnecessarily taking other people’s problems personally. When you start looking at who you are and what you’re capable of with a positive mindset, you stop taking others’ evaluation of you to be the reality.

A better feeling of self-worth will help you see when something is really about you & when it’s more about the other person. If it’s about you, you’ll be better equipped to know when the feedback is constructive, helping you grow & when it’s best ignored.

Basically, it’ll go a long way in preserving your sanity, happiness, & peace of mind.

3. A Better Handle on Failure

Failing in some way or another is unavoidable whether it’s your personal or professional life. It’s just a part of life. The good news is, with positive thinking, you’re better equipped to handle the setbacks and that’s what makes the real difference!

When we see failure as something unchangeable & final, we’re essentially abandoning the cause. A positive way of thinking will help you see failure as a learning curve. Lessons to be learned for you to have what it takes to succeed.

Learning from your failures is the key to revolutionize your definition of success.

4. Expanded Possibilities

Another benefit of positive thinking is that you may start looking at things in a “why not?” sort of way. You start questioning the reasons behind what you think are the limits of your talent, intelligence, & goals. It broadens our idea of what’s possible if we try our best.

Plus, we become more open to new ideas & to learning. Dr. Carol Dweck, a renowned psychology researcher from Stanford University believes (& has proven through her research) that this is the mindset which leads to exceptional success & contentment in life.

5. Better Health

The health benefits of positive thinking mainly come from being able to manage stress effectively. It’s even noted by Mayo Clinic that our immune system, heart health, mental health & even life expectancy is affected by stress.

As we discussed earlier about positive mindset helping cope with stress better, you can see how important quality self-talk is! Whether we feed our mind with negativity or constructive uplifting thoughts makes a whole lot of difference to our wellbeing.

Plus, when you have a positive attitude towards life, you take better care of yourself with at least some sort of exercise, a healthier diet, & effective relaxation time. Win-win!

Besides these benefits of positive thinking, getting into a glass-half-full way of thinking can actually be fun & relaxing. Be a stickler for spending time to unwind, enjoy your life, and practice self care. Consistently try and do things that spark joy and contentment in you.  

You’d be pleasantly surprised at what your mind is capable of if simply given the space!

Which comes normally to you – seeing the brighter side of things or stressing out at the mention of a problem? Let us know in the comments below.

Nandita of Nandyz Soulshine is growth & positive mindset blogger, wellness enthusiast, & a free-willed artist. She uses her hard-earned life lessons tweaked with her vision in hindsight to help others better understand themselves & live a more fulfilling life.

You May Also Like

What is mindfulness + 7 easy ways to practice it daily, 5 steps to doing a social media detox for self care, how to calm your mind when you worry about everything, 15 mindfulness journal prompts for more self-awareness and intention.

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31 examples of problem solving performance review phrases

Jump to section

You're doing great

You should think of improving

Tips to improve

Use these practical examples of phrases, sample comments, and templates for your performance review , 360-degree feedback survey, or manager appraisal.

The following examples not only relate to problem-solving but also conflict management , effective solutions, selecting the best alternatives, decision making , problem identification, analyzing effectively, and generally becoming an effective problem-solving strategist. Start using effective performance review questions to help better guide your workforce's development. 

Problem solving appraisal comments: you're doing great

• You always maintain an effective dialogue with clients when they have technical problems. Being clear and articulate makes sure our customers' faults are attended to promptly.
• You constantly make sure to look beyond the obvious you never stop at the first answer. You’re really good at exploring alternatives. Well done!
• Keeping the supervisors and managers informed of status changes and requests is important. You’re really good at communicating the changes to the projects at all times. Keep it up!
• You stay cool and collected even when things aren’t going according to plan or up in the air. This is a great trait to possess. Well done!
• You’re excellent at giving an honest and logical analysis. Keep it up! Effectively diagnosing complex problems and reaching sustainable solutions is one of your strong points.
• Your ability to ability to make complex systems into simple ones is truly a unique skill to possess. Well done!
• You often identify practical solutions to every roadblock. You’re a real asset to the team! Great job.
• You always listen actively and attentively to make sure you understand what the exact problem is and you come up with solutions in an effective manner.
• You have an amazing ability to clearly explain options and solutions effectively and efficiently. Well done!
• When driving projects, you can shift to other areas comfortably and easily. making sure the project runs smoothly. Great job!

Problem solving performance review phrases: you should think of improving

• You always seem too overwhelmed when faced with multiple problems. Try to think of ways to make problems more manageable so that they can be solved in a timely and effective manner.
• Avoiding conflicts constantly with people is not a good idea as you will only build up personal frustration and nothing will be done to remedy the situation. Try to face people when there are problems and rectify problems when they occur.
• Don’t allow demanding customers to rattle your cage too much. If they become too demanding, take a step back, regulate your emotions , and try to make use of online support tools to help you rectify problems these tools can help a lot!
• It’s necessary that you learn from your past mistakes . You cannot keep making the same mistakes , as this is not beneficial to the company.
• You tend to ask the same questions over and over again. Try to listen more attentively or take notes when colleagues are answering!
• Providing multiple solutions in an indirect and creative approach will allow you to be more effective at problem-solving . if you struggle with this typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light.
• You fail to provide staff with the appropriate amount of structure and direction. They must know the direction you wish them to go in to achieve their goals .
• You need to be able to recognize repetitive trends to solve problems promptly.
• You tend to have problems troubleshooting even the most basic of questions. As a problem solver and customer support person, it’s imperative that you can answer these questions easily.
• Read through your training manual and make sure you fully understand it before attempting questions again.

Performance review tips to improve problem solving

• Try to complain less about problems and come up with solutions to the problems more often. Complaining is not beneficial to progression and innovation.
• As a problem solver, it’s important to be able to handle multiple priorities under short deadlines.
• You need to be able to effectively distinguish between the cause and the symptoms of problems to solve them in an efficient and timely manner.
• Try to anticipate problems in advance before they become major roadblocks down the road.
• Try to view obstacles as opportunities to learn and thrive at the challenge of solving the problem.
• Remember to prioritize problems according to their degree of urgency. It's important that you spend the majority of your time on urgent tasks over menial ones.
• When putting plans into place, stick to them and make sure they are completed.
• When solving problems, try to allocate appropriate levels of resources when undertaking new projects. It is important to become as efficient and as effective as possible.
• Try to learn to pace yourself when solving problems to avoid burnout . You’re a great asset to the team and we cannot afford to lose at this point.
• Meeting regularly with your staff to review results is vital to the problem-solving process.
• Staff that has regular check-ins understand what it is that is required of them, what they are currently achieving, and areas they may need to improve. Try to hold one-on-one meetings every week.

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Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

How a performance review template improves the feedback process

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Do You Understand the Problem You’re Trying to Solve?

To solve tough problems at work, first ask these questions.

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Problem solving skills are invaluable in any job. But all too often, we jump to find solutions to a problem without taking time to really understand the dilemma we face, according to Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg , an expert in innovation and the author of the book, What’s Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve .

In this episode, you’ll learn how to reframe tough problems by asking questions that reveal all the factors and assumptions that contribute to the situation. You’ll also learn why searching for just one root cause can be misleading.

Key episode topics include: leadership, decision making and problem solving, power and influence, business management.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

• Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: The Secret to Better Problem Solving (2016)
• Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast
• Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org .

HANNAH BATES: Welcome to HBR on Leadership , case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, hand-selected to help you unlock the best in those around you.

Problem solving skills are invaluable in any job. But even the most experienced among us can fall into the trap of solving the wrong problem.

Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg says that all too often, we jump to find solutions to a problem – without taking time to really understand what we’re facing.

He’s an expert in innovation, and he’s the author of the book, What’s Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve .

  In this episode, you’ll learn how to reframe tough problems, by asking questions that reveal all the factors and assumptions that contribute to the situation. You’ll also learn why searching for one root cause can be misleading. And you’ll learn how to use experimentation and rapid prototyping as problem-solving tools.

This episode originally aired on HBR IdeaCast in December 2016. Here it is.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I’m Sarah Green Carmichael.

Problem solving is popular. People put it on their resumes. Managers believe they excel at it. Companies count it as a key proficiency. We solve customers’ problems.

The problem is we often solve the wrong problems. Albert Einstein and Peter Drucker alike have discussed the difficulty of effective diagnosis. There are great frameworks for getting teams to attack true problems, but they’re often hard to do daily and on the fly. That’s where our guest comes in.

Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is a consultant who helps companies and managers reframe their problems so they can come up with an effective solution faster. He asks the question “Are You Solving The Right Problems?” in the January-February 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. Thomas, thank you so much for coming on the HBR IdeaCast .

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Thanks for inviting me.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, I thought maybe we could start by talking about the problem of talking about problem reframing. What is that exactly?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Basically, when people face a problem, they tend to jump into solution mode to rapidly, and very often that means that they don’t really understand, necessarily, the problem they’re trying to solve. And so, reframing is really a– at heart, it’s a method that helps you avoid that by taking a second to go in and ask two questions, basically saying, first of all, wait. What is the problem we’re trying to solve? And then crucially asking, is there a different way to think about what the problem actually is?

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, I feel like so often when this comes up in meetings, you know, someone says that, and maybe they throw out the Einstein quote about you spend an hour of problem solving, you spend 55 minutes to find the problem. And then everyone else in the room kind of gets irritated. So, maybe just give us an example of maybe how this would work in practice in a way that would not, sort of, set people’s teeth on edge, like oh, here Sarah goes again, reframing the whole problem instead of just solving it.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: I mean, you’re bringing up something that’s, I think is crucial, which is to create legitimacy for the method. So, one of the reasons why I put out the article is to give people a tool to say actually, this thing is still important, and we need to do it. But I think the really critical thing in order to make this work in a meeting is actually to learn how to do it fast, because if you have the idea that you need to spend 30 minutes in a meeting delving deeply into the problem, I mean, that’s going to be uphill for most problems. So, the critical thing here is really to try to make it a practice you can implement very, very rapidly.

There’s an example that I would suggest memorizing. This is the example that I use to explain very rapidly what it is. And it’s basically, I call it the slow elevator problem. You imagine that you are the owner of an office building, and that your tenants are complaining that the elevator’s slow.

Now, if you take that problem framing for granted, you’re going to start thinking creatively around how do we make the elevator faster. Do we install a new motor? Do we have to buy a new lift somewhere?

The thing is, though, if you ask people who actually work with facilities management, well, they’re going to have a different solution for you, which is put up a mirror next to the elevator. That’s what happens is, of course, that people go oh, I’m busy. I’m busy. I’m– oh, a mirror. Oh, that’s beautiful.

And then they forget time. What’s interesting about that example is that the idea with a mirror is actually a solution to a different problem than the one you first proposed. And so, the whole idea here is once you get good at using reframing, you can quickly identify other aspects of the problem that might be much better to try to solve than the original one you found. It’s not necessarily that the first one is wrong. It’s just that there might be better problems out there to attack that we can, means we can do things much faster, cheaper, or better.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, in that example, I can understand how A, it’s probably expensive to make the elevator faster, so it’s much cheaper just to put up a mirror. And B, maybe the real problem people are actually feeling, even though they’re not articulating it right, is like, I hate waiting for the elevator. But if you let them sort of fix their hair or check their teeth, they’re suddenly distracted and don’t notice.

But if you have, this is sort of a pedestrian example, but say you have a roommate or a spouse who doesn’t clean up the kitchen. Facing that problem and not having your elegant solution already there to highlight the contrast between the perceived problem and the real problem, how would you take a problem like that and attack it using this method so that you can see what some of the other options might be?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Right. So, I mean, let’s say it’s you who have that problem. I would go in and say, first of all, what would you say the problem is? Like, if you were to describe your view of the problem, what would that be?

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: I hate cleaning the kitchen, and I want someone else to clean it up.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: OK. So, my first observation, you know, that somebody else might not necessarily be your spouse. So, already there, there’s an inbuilt assumption in your question around oh, it has to be my husband who does the cleaning. So, it might actually be worth, already there to say, is that really the only problem you have? That you hate cleaning the kitchen, and you want to avoid it? Or might there be something around, as well, getting a better relationship in terms of how you solve problems in general or establishing a better way to handle small problems when dealing with your spouse?

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Or maybe, now that I’m thinking that, maybe the problem is that you just can’t find the stuff in the kitchen when you need to find it.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Right, and so that’s an example of a reframing, that actually why is it a problem that the kitchen is not clean? Is it only because you hate the act of cleaning, or does it actually mean that it just takes you a lot longer and gets a lot messier to actually use the kitchen, which is a different problem. The way you describe this problem now, is there anything that’s missing from that description?

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: That is a really good question.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Other, basically asking other factors that we are not talking about right now, and I say those because people tend to, when given a problem, they tend to delve deeper into the detail. What often is missing is actually an element outside of the initial description of the problem that might be really relevant to what’s going on. Like, why does the kitchen get messy in the first place? Is it something about the way you use it or your cooking habits? Is it because the neighbor’s kids, kind of, use it all the time?

There might, very often, there might be issues that you’re not really thinking about when you first describe the problem that actually has a big effect on it.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: I think at this point it would be helpful to maybe get another business example, and I’m wondering if you could tell us the story of the dog adoption problem.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Yeah. This is a big problem in the US. If you work in the shelter industry, basically because dogs are so popular, more than 3 million dogs every year enter a shelter, and currently only about half of those actually find a new home and get adopted. And so, this is a problem that has persisted. It’s been, like, a structural problem for decades in this space. In the last three years, where people found new ways to address it.

So a woman called Lori Weise who runs a rescue organization in South LA, and she actually went in and challenged the very idea of what we were trying to do. She said, no, no. The problem we’re trying to solve is not about how to get more people to adopt dogs. It is about keeping the dogs with their first family so they never enter the shelter system in the first place.

In 2013, she started what’s called a Shelter Intervention Program that basically works like this. If a family comes and wants to hand over their dog, these are called owner surrenders. It’s about 30% of all dogs that come into a shelter. All they would do is go up and ask, if you could, would you like to keep your animal? And if they said yes, they would try to fix whatever helped them fix the problem, but that made them turn over this.

And sometimes that might be that they moved into a new building. The landlord required a deposit, and they simply didn’t have the money to put down a deposit. Or the dog might need a $10 rabies shot, but they didn’t know how to get access to a vet.

And so, by instigating that program, just in the first year, she took her, basically the amount of dollars they spent per animal they helped went from something like $85 down to around $60. Just an immediate impact, and her program now is being rolled out, is being supported by the ASPCA, which is one of the big animal welfare stations, and it’s being rolled out to various other places.

And I think what really struck me with that example was this was not dependent on having the internet. This was not, oh, we needed to have everybody mobile before we could come up with this. This, conceivably, we could have done 20 years ago. Only, it only happened when somebody, like in this case Lori, went in and actually rethought what the problem they were trying to solve was in the first place.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, what I also think is so interesting about that example is that when you talk about it, it doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that would have been thought of through other kinds of problem solving methods. There wasn’t necessarily an After Action Review or a 5 Whys exercise or a Six Sigma type intervention. I don’t want to throw those other methods under the bus, but how can you get such powerful results with such a very simple way of thinking about something?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: That was something that struck me as well. This, in a way, reframing and the idea of the problem diagnosis is important is something we’ve known for a long, long time. And we’ve actually have built some tools to help out. If you worked with us professionally, you are familiar with, like, Six Sigma, TRIZ, and so on. You mentioned 5 Whys. A root cause analysis is another one that a lot of people are familiar with.

Those are our good tools, and they’re definitely better than nothing. But what I notice when I work with the companies applying those was those tools tend to make you dig deeper into the first understanding of the problem we have. If it’s the elevator example, people start asking, well, is that the cable strength, or is the capacity of the elevator? That they kind of get caught by the details.

That, in a way, is a bad way to work on problems because it really assumes that there’s like a, you can almost hear it, a root cause. That you have to dig down and find the one true problem, and everything else was just symptoms. That’s a bad way to think about problems because problems tend to be multicausal.

There tend to be lots of causes or levers you can potentially press to address a problem. And if you think there’s only one, if that’s the right problem, that’s actually a dangerous way. And so I think that’s why, that this is a method I’ve worked with over the last five years, trying to basically refine how to make people better at this, and the key tends to be this thing about shifting out and saying, is there a totally different way of thinking about the problem versus getting too caught up in the mechanistic details of what happens.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: What about experimentation? Because that’s another method that’s become really popular with the rise of Lean Startup and lots of other innovation methodologies. Why wouldn’t it have worked to, say, experiment with many different types of fixing the dog adoption problem, and then just pick the one that works the best?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: You could say in the dog space, that’s what’s been going on. I mean, there is, in this industry and a lot of, it’s largely volunteer driven. People have experimented, and they found different ways of trying to cope. And that has definitely made the problem better. So, I wouldn’t say that experimentation is bad, quite the contrary. Rapid prototyping, quickly putting something out into the world and learning from it, that’s a fantastic way to learn more and to move forward.

My point is, though, that I feel we’ve come to rely too much on that. There’s like, if you look at the start up space, the wisdom is now just to put something quickly into the market, and then if it doesn’t work, pivot and just do more stuff. What reframing really is, I think of it as the cognitive counterpoint to prototyping. So, this is really a way of seeing very quickly, like not just working on the solution, but also working on our understanding of the problem and trying to see is there a different way to think about that.

If you only stick with experimentation, again, you tend to sometimes stay too much in the same space trying minute variations of something instead of taking a step back and saying, wait a minute. What is this telling us about what the real issue is?

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, to go back to something that we touched on earlier, when we were talking about the completely hypothetical example of a spouse who does not clean the kitchen–

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Completely, completely hypothetical.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Yes. For the record, my husband is a great kitchen cleaner.

You started asking me some questions that I could see immediately were helping me rethink that problem. Is that kind of the key, just having a checklist of questions to ask yourself? How do you really start to put this into practice?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: I think there are two steps in that. The first one is just to make yourself better at the method. Yes, you should kind of work with a checklist. In the article, I kind of outlined seven practices that you can use to do this.

But importantly, I would say you have to consider that as, basically, a set of training wheels. I think there’s a big, big danger in getting caught in a checklist. This is something I work with.

My co-author Paddy Miller, it’s one of his insights. That if you start giving people a checklist for things like this, they start following it. And that’s actually a problem, because what you really want them to do is start challenging their thinking.

So the way to handle this is to get some practice using it. Do use the checklist initially, but then try to step away from it and try to see if you can organically make– it’s almost a habit of mind. When you run into a colleague in the hallway and she has a problem and you have five minutes, like, delving in and just starting asking some of those questions and using your intuition to say, wait, how is she talking about this problem? And is there a question or two I can ask her about the problem that can help her rethink it?

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Well, that is also just a very different approach, because I think in that situation, most of us can’t go 30 seconds without jumping in and offering solutions.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Very true. The drive toward solutions is very strong. And to be clear, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that if the solutions work. So, many problems are just solved by oh, you know, oh, here’s the way to do that. Great.

But this is really a powerful method for those problems where either it’s something we’ve been banging our heads against tons of times without making progress, or when you need to come up with a really creative solution. When you’re facing a competitor with a much bigger budget, and you know, if you solve the same problem later, you’re not going to win. So, that basic idea of taking that approach to problems can often help you move forward in a different way than just like, oh, I have a solution.

I would say there’s also, there’s some interesting psychological stuff going on, right? Where you may have tried this, but if somebody tries to serve up a solution to a problem I have, I’m often resistant towards them. Kind if like, no, no, no, no, no, no. That solution is not going to work in my world. Whereas if you get them to discuss and analyze what the problem really is, you might actually dig something up.

Let’s go back to the kitchen example. One powerful question is just to say, what’s your own part in creating this problem? It’s very often, like, people, they describe problems as if it’s something that’s inflicted upon them from the external world, and they are innocent bystanders in that.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Right, or crazy customers with unreasonable demands.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Exactly, right. I don’t think I’ve ever met an agency or consultancy that didn’t, like, gossip about their customers. Oh, my god, they’re horrible. That, you know, classic thing, why don’t they want to take more risk? Well, risk is bad.

It’s their business that’s on the line, not the consultancy’s, right? So, absolutely, that’s one of the things when you step into a different mindset and kind of, wait. Oh yeah, maybe I actually am part of creating this problem in a sense, as well. That tends to open some new doors for you to move forward, in a way, with stuff that you may have been struggling with for years.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, we’ve surfaced a couple of questions that are useful. I’m curious to know, what are some of the other questions that you find yourself asking in these situations, given that you have made this sort of mental habit that you do? What are the questions that people seem to find really useful?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: One easy one is just to ask if there are any positive exceptions to the problem. So, was there day where your kitchen was actually spotlessly clean? And then asking, what was different about that day? Like, what happened there that didn’t happen the other days? That can very often point people towards a factor that they hadn’t considered previously.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: We got take-out.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: S,o that is your solution. Take-out from [INAUDIBLE]. That might have other problems.

Another good question, and this is a little bit more high level. It’s actually more making an observation about labeling how that person thinks about the problem. And what I mean with that is, we have problem categories in our head. So, if I say, let’s say that you describe a problem to me and say, well, we have a really great product and are, it’s much better than our previous product, but people aren’t buying it. I think we need to put more marketing dollars into this.

Now you can go in and say, that’s interesting. This sounds like you’re thinking of this as a communications problem. Is there a different way of thinking about that? Because you can almost tell how, when the second you say communications, there are some ideas about how do you solve a communications problem. Typically with more communication.

And what you might do is go in and suggest, well, have you considered that it might be, say, an incentive problem? Are there incentives on behalf of the purchasing manager at your clients that are obstructing you? Might there be incentive issues with your own sales force that makes them want to sell the old product instead of the new one?

So literally, just identifying what type of problem does this person think about, and is there different potential way of thinking about it? Might it be an emotional problem, a timing problem, an expectations management problem? Thinking about what label of what type of problem that person is kind of thinking as it of.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: That’s really interesting, too, because I think so many of us get requests for advice that we’re really not qualified to give. So, maybe the next time that happens, instead of muddying my way through, I will just ask some of those questions that we talked about instead.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: That sounds like a good idea.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So, Thomas, this has really helped me reframe the way I think about a couple of problems in my own life, and I’m just wondering. I know you do this professionally, but is there a problem in your life that thinking this way has helped you solve?

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: I’ve, of course, I’ve been swallowing my own medicine on this, too, and I think I have, well, maybe two different examples, and in one case somebody else did the reframing for me. But in one case, when I was younger, I often kind of struggled a little bit. I mean, this is my teenage years, kind of hanging out with my parents. I thought they were pretty annoying people. That’s not really fair, because they’re quite wonderful, but that’s what life is when you’re a teenager.

And one of the things that struck me, suddenly, and this was kind of the positive exception was, there was actually an evening where we really had a good time, and there wasn’t a conflict. And the core thing was, I wasn’t just seeing them in their old house where I grew up. It was, actually, we were at a restaurant. And it suddenly struck me that so much of the sometimes, kind of, a little bit, you love them but they’re annoying kind of dynamic, is tied to the place, is tied to the setting you are in.

And of course, if– you know, I live abroad now, if I visit my parents and I stay in my old bedroom, you know, my mother comes in and wants to wake me up in the morning. Stuff like that, right? And it just struck me so, so clearly that it’s– when I change this setting, if I go out and have dinner with them at a different place, that the dynamic, just that dynamic disappears.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Well, Thomas, this has been really, really helpful. Thank you for talking with me today.

THOMAS WEDELL-WEDELLSBORG: Thank you, Sarah.  

HANNAH BATES: That was Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg in conversation with Sarah Green Carmichael on the HBR IdeaCast. He’s an expert in problem solving and innovation, and he’s the author of the book, What’s Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve .

We’ll be back next Wednesday with another hand-picked conversation about leadership from the Harvard Business Review. If you found this episode helpful, share it with your friends and colleagues, and follow our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, be sure to leave us a review.

We’re a production of Harvard Business Review. If you want more podcasts, articles, case studies, books, and videos like this, find it all at HBR dot org.

This episode was produced by Anne Saini, and me, Hannah Bates. Ian Fox is our editor. Music by Coma Media. Special thanks to Maureen Hoch, Adi Ignatius, Karen Player, Ramsey Khabbaz, Nicole Smith, Anne Bartholomew, and you – our listener.

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Attitude: Performance Review Examples (Rating 1 – 5)

By Status.net Editorial Team on August 8, 2023 — 9 minutes to read

Performance Review Phrases and Paragraphs Examples for Attitude

In the workplace, attitude is a key component that contributes to the efficacy and growth of individuals as well as teams. This list of phrases and paragraphs examples provides a framework for addressing employee attitudes in a professional manner during performance reviews.

5 – Outstanding

Outstanding rating is awarded to employees who consistently excel in their roles. They surpass their goals, actively contribute to the team’s success, and show impressive initiative, problem-solving ability, and creativity. Their positive attitude and excellent communication skills set an example for others.

Phrases Examples:

• Demonstrates a consistently positive and enthusiastic approach to work.
• Readily accepts challenges with an upbeat attitude and strong perseverance.
• Proactively seeks ways to improve the work environment by addressing feedback openly and constructively.
• Actively engages in problem-solving while always maintaining a positive outlook.
• Demonstrates positivity and enthusiasm in every task.
• Always optimistic, even in challenging situations.
• Handles criticism with grace and takes it as an opportunity for growth.
• Consistently demonstrates a positive attitude, making a positive impact on team morale.
• Always has an encouraging word for colleagues, promoting collaboration and unity.

Paragraph Examples:

“Jane consistently demonstrates a positive attitude, making a positive impact on team morale. She understands the importance of maintaining a cheerful disposition and always has an encouraging word for colleagues, promoting collaboration and unity within the team.”

“Mary’s outstanding performance rating for her attitude is a testament to her unwavering commitment to maintaining a positive outlook in the workplace. Her cheerful demeanor and optimistic approach have been a source of inspiration for her colleagues, and she has proven time and again to be an invaluable asset to the team. Even in the face of difficult situations, Mary’s ability to remain level-headed and constructive has helped to diffuse tense situations and keep the team focused on achieving their goals. Her dedication to maintaining a positive work environment is truly remarkable, and we are grateful to have her as a member of our team.”

4 – Exceeds Expectations

Exceeds Expectations rating is assigned to employees who consistently perform at a high level. They not only meet but consistently surpass expectations. Their attitude is proactive, goal-oriented, and they willingly embrace additional responsibilities. These employees often act as team leaders and drive continuous improvements in their units.

• Often exhibits a positive outlook and willingly tackles challenging tasks.
• Regularly offers support and encouragement to colleagues, contributing to a positive work environment.
• Adopts a constructive approach to feedback and demonstrates the ability to adapt accordingly.
• Embraces challenges and delivers results, showcasing a hardworking attitude.
• Often exhibits a positive outlook.
• Goes the extra mile to maintain a good attitude.
• Remains constructive in the face of adversity.
• Frequently offers solutions, fostering a proactive and solution-oriented mindset.
• Often goes out of their way to help others, embodying the team spirit.

“John frequently offers solutions to challenges, fostering a proactive and solution-oriented mindset amongst his peers. He often goes out of his way to help others, embodying the team spirit and contributing significantly to the overall success of his team.”

“Catherine has exceeded expectations when it comes to her attitude. She demonstrates an ability to bounce back from setbacks and maintain a positive approach. She also makes an effort to support her colleagues during challenging times, contributing to a positive work environment.”

3 – Meets Expectations

Meets Expectations rating signifies that the employee consistently fulfills their responsibilities and achieves their goals. They demonstrate a positive attitude, decent communication skills, and maintain a satisfactory level of productivity. This rating acknowledges that the employee is meeting the requirements of their job.

• Maintains a generally positive attitude while completing tasks.
• Cooperates effectively with colleagues and seeks ways to resolve conflicts.
• Exhibits an open-minded attitude when receiving feedback and demonstrates a willingness to make changes.
• Approaches challenges with a sense of determination and focus.
• Generally maintains a pleasant demeanor.
• Can stay focused despite setbacks.
• Responsive to feedback and open to change.
• Maintains a steady level of motivation and enthusiasm during work tasks.
• Generally open to feedback and willing to learn from constructive criticism.

“Mary maintains a steady level of motivation and enthusiasm during work tasks. She is generally open to feedback and is willing to learn from constructive criticism, showing her adaptability and receptiveness to personal growth.”

“John consistently meets expectations in terms of his attitude. He demonstrates a professional demeanor that allows him to collaborate effectively with his peers and work through difficult situations.”

2 – Needs Improvement

Employees rated as Needs Improvement , are those that demonstrate inconsistent performance or require additional support to achieve their goals. They may struggle to maintain a positive attitude or have occasional lapses in communication, which can hinder their overall productivity. These employees are encouraged to create a development plan to address gaps and enhance their performance.

• Displays occasional negativity or resistance to taking on tasks outside of their comfort zone.
• Sometimes struggles to work effectively with others or communicates in a manner that can be abrasive.
• Demonstrates reluctance to accept feedback or may react defensively to constructive criticism.
• Requires encouragement or guidance to maintain focus during challenging situations.
• Sometimes manifests negativity or cynicism.
• Struggles to maintain a positive outlook during stressful situations.
• Resistant to some forms of feedback or change.
• Sometimes displays negativity, which can affect the team’s motivation.
• Occasionally fails to collaborate effectively, leading to communication breakdowns.

“Bob sometimes displays negativity in the workplace, affecting the team’s motivation and overall performance. He occasionally fails to collaborate effectively, leading to communication breakdowns that cause setbacks to project progression.”

“Sara sometimes struggles with maintaining a positive attitude, particularly when facing challenging circumstances or conflicts within the team. While she is capable of accomplishing her tasks, her negative approach can result in decreased morale among her peers. Sara’s attitude could benefit from improvement.”

1 – Unacceptable

Unacceptable rating is reserved for employees performing significantly below expectations. They consistently fail to achieve their goals, demonstrate a negative attitude, and their communication skills are poor. Immediate action is required to address these issues, including the development of a performance improvement plan.

• Regularly exhibits a negative attitude towards work, often hindering progress and team morale.
• Engages in inappropriate behavior that disrupts the work environment or causes conflicts.
• Consistently disregards feedback, shows no interest in growth or personal development.
• Avoids challenges and displays a lack of effort, indicating a possible issue with work ethic.
• Frequently displays a negative attitude.
• Unwilling to adapt to change or accept feedback.
• Allows personal emotions to adversely affect performance.
• Consistently demonstrates a negative attitude, causing disturbances to the work environment.
• Frequently displays reluctance to participate in teamwork and disregards colleagues’ opinions.

“Sue consistently demonstrates a negative attitude, causing disturbances in the work environment. She frequently displays reluctance to participate in teamwork and disregards colleagues’ opinions, hampering overall productivity and team harmony.”

“Tom has demonstrated an unacceptable attitude in the workplace, often expressing frustration and negativity when approachability and flexibility are needed. This has resulted in strained relationships with colleagues and decreased team cohesion. Tom’s attitude must be addressed in order for him to succeed in his role.”

Performance Review Questions: Attitude

1. Is the employee positive and enthusiastic about their work? 2. Does the employee demonstrate a willingness to learn and take on new challenges? 3. Does the employee display a can-do attitude and take initiative to get things done? 4. Does the employee work well with others and contribute to a positive team environment? 5. Does the employee handle difficult situations with a calm and professional demeanor? 6. Does the employee take responsibility for their actions and admit to mistakes when they occur? 7. Does the employee consistently meet deadlines and produce high-quality work? 8. Does the employee show a commitment to the company’s values and mission? 9. Does the employee maintain a professional and respectful demeanor towards colleagues and customers? 10. Does the employee demonstrate a willingness to go above and beyond their job duties to help the company succeed?

Best Practices

• Be specific when referencing employee behavior. Providing concrete examples makes your feedback more constructive and actionable.
• Focus on the employee’s strengths as well as areas for improvement. By highlighting their accomplishments and drawing attention to their potential, you demonstrate that you recognize their value while also setting goals for future development.
• Maintain a balanced perspective by considering both the past and the present to paint a comprehensive picture of the employee’s attitude. This ensures that your review doesn’t overlook essential context or weigh too heavily on recent events.
• Remember that the purpose of a performance review is not only to evaluate but also to guide and motivate. Use your words to empower your employee by providing constructive feedback and setting clear expectations for the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can i assess attitude in a performance review.

Assessing an employee’s attitude in a performance review entails observing their behavior, communication, and reactions to situations in the workplace. Look for signs of a positive or negative attitude, such as their ability to take criticism, how they interact with colleagues, and how they handle difficult situations. Document their responses and use specific examples to discuss and evaluate their attitude.

What phrases can I use to describe an employee’s attitude?

5 – outstanding:.

• Consistently demonstrates a positive attitude
• Always eager to learn and improve
• Proactively addresses challenges with a solution-oriented mindset

4 – Exceeds Expectations:

• Frequently displays a positive attitude
• Accepts feedback well and makes efforts to improve
• Seeks opportunities to grow and develop professionally

3 – Meets Expectations:

• Generally maintains a positive attitude
• Listens to feedback and makes an effort to improve
• Demonstrates adaptability in varying situations

2 – Needs Improvement:

• Occasionally struggles with maintaining a positive attitude
• Could be more receptive to feedback and criticism
• Hesitates to take on new tasks or responsibilities

1 – Unacceptable:

• Displays a negative attitude that negatively affects the team
• Resists feedback and refuses to make necessary improvements
• Lacks the ability to adapt to change and causes friction in the workplace

How can I address positive and negative attitudes in a performance review?

During a performance review, recognize the positive attitude of employees by praising their efforts, using specific examples to reinforce their value to the team. When addressing negative attitudes, be honest, fair, and provide constructive feedback that is both specific and solution-oriented. Offer support and resources to help employees improve their attitude and suggest an action plan for improvement.

What are examples of paragraphs for attitude in a performance review?

Example for Outstanding Attitude:

“John consistently demonstrates a positive attitude and actively contributes to the team’s success. He is always eager to learn and embraces new challenges with enthusiasm. His optimism and solution-oriented mindset have a positive influence on his colleagues and make him a valuable member of the team.”

Example for Needs Improvement:

“Susan sometimes struggles with maintaining a positive attitude, which can create tension in the team. She should be more open to receiving feedback and work on finding ways to improve her outlook. We encourage Susan to seek additional resources, such as training or mentorship, to help her develop a more positive demeanor at work.”

How can I use the rating scale to evaluate attitude in a performance review?

Utilize the rating scale by linking specific behaviors and actions to their corresponding ratings. For an employee who consistently displays a positive attitude and embraces change, rate them as ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Exceeds Expectations.’ An employee who is resistant to feedback and struggles with adaptability might receive a rating of ‘Needs Improvement’ or ‘Unacceptable.’ Ensure that these ratings are supported by specific examples observed over the evaluation period.

What are some effective attitude performance review phrases for managers?

• “Demonstrates strong leadership through a positive attitude and effective communication”
• “Creates an inclusive environment that encourages collaboration and teamwork”
• “Inspires trust and confidence in their team by maintaining a solution-focused mindset”
• “Responds well to feedback and consistently looks for ways to improve their own performance”
• “Actively supports the personal and professional growth of team members through mentorship and guidance”
• Flexibility: Performance Review Examples (Rating 1 - 5)
• Initiative: Performance Review Examples (Rating 1 - 5)
• Job Knowledge Performance Review Phrases (Examples)
• Productivity: Performance Review Examples (Rating 1 - 5)
• Attention to Detail: Performance Review Examples (Rating 1 - 5)
• Problem Solving Skills: Performance Review Examples (Rating 1 - 5)