Solving problems is a skill. I've been told that I have this ability. But what does that mean? First, it means identifying that there is an issue to be resolved. With a state of emergency in Ontario and having the Emergencies Act invoked, it is clear that someone has identified that there are problems in this province and country, though the path to resolving them remains unclear.
In our lives, we sometimes just get used to things. Life is what it is. While that is true, there are things that can be addressed, made better. There are problems that can be solved. For example, we have two steps into the house from the garage. At some point, we will build a ramp so that the steps are not an issue. The door to the house has an automatic closer on it. While that pulls the door shut behind us, it is hard to push open. My goal for this week is to figure out how to lessen the pressure so that it is easier to open.
After we identify that something can be changed, we have to step back and analyze the situation. When something frustrates us, we complain about it. Our first reaction may be anger. To fix it, we have to step back and take a look at what causes the frustration, what can't be adjusted, and what can be changed. We need to set aside the emotion so that we can gain perspective.
However, and this is a big however, setting aside the emotion can be costly. Where did we put it? Did we just bury it? Did we talk ourselves out of the feeling? Did we hide it from another person so that we could listen carefully to their sense of the problem?
It is hard to listen when anger burns in us. It is hard for another person to speak clearly to us when we are on fire with anger. So, yes, we have to let the anger go. But letting it go does not get rid of it. We do have to push frustration aside so that we give ourselves space to analyze the situation, but it is important to allow the emotion to exist so that we can deal with the feelings apart from the problem.
To solve the problem, however, we really do have to put aside the anger and frustration. Watching police move in on the demonstrators at the Ambassador Bridge, they were calm and quiet in their demeanor. This helped to keep the removal work from escalating. I've stood with peaceful picketers when police arrived in riot gear to bring in replacement workers. Tensions immediately skyrocketed. You can't look calm, cool, and collected wearing riot gear.
In our home life, you can't carefully discuss options when yelling at one another. You can't test possibilities when stomping around and slamming something on the counter. We put aside the emotions in order to talk over options, to agree on the experiment, and to watch how the attempt works.
When an adjustment makes something easier, we are relieved. We feel satisfaction that the problem solving was effective. We let ourselves feel the positive emotions. But if we don't remember the initial frustration, we may not be able to hold on to the new pattern, especially if it takes extra work.
There is another problem with problem solving: it problematizes a situation. It can feel like someone ends up with the label "problem" on their forehead.
If we look at Ottawa, it might feel fair to identify the protesters as the problem. They, however, have identified pandemic restrictions as the problem. In a way, Covid 19 is the problem. And the level of anger and frustration in the community is the problem. Once the protest is cleared, that problem won't be solved. As a province and as a country, we will still need to deal with the underlying problem of how upset people are, how stressed and how constrained two years of pandemic has made us all, how divided our country seems to be.
Identifying issues that need to be addressed without labeling someone as a problem takes care and compassion. Setting aside frustration without burying it takes self-care. I am thinking that problem solving isn't as easy as it sounds.
Cathy Hird lives on the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation
