You may be thinking, “What’s the difference?” Fair question.
A problem-oriented perspective focuses on why the problem happened.
A solution-oriented approach focuses on the possible ways to fix the problem.
As we are launching and running our voiceover businesses, it is inevitable that we will encounter problems daily. They may be big or small, meaningful or insignificant. But a challenge to address, nonetheless. If you are only focusing on why the problem happened, you can quickly get stuck in a rut of negativity. Thoughts of “this isn’t fair”, “this never should’ve happened”, or “this is someone else’s fault” dominate our brain. You may very well be right, what happened isn’t fair, but you’re no better off for focusing on that.
The fact is, the problem happened. It doesn’t necessarily matter why at the moment, it matters that we fix it. And the sooner the better.
The biggest difference between the two perspectives is that solution-oriented thinking EMPOWERS us to do something about it. We aren’t left with a feeling of helplessness or negativity which can greatly impact our motivation (not to mention wasting the precious time of building our business). Solution-oriented thinking leaves us with a positive mindset and strengthens our ability to be adaptable and flexible when other problems occur.
Think about some of the challenges you’re currently facing in your business. Do an honesty check with yourself: are you looking at these challenges from a problem or solution-oriented perspective? If it’s a problem-oriented perspective, what changes can you make in order to better your business?
cheers to changing our perspectives,
Christy