Someone: “My phone is dead.”

Me:  “Is the phone really dead?”

Someone: “Yes, it won’t charge.  It doesn’t hold a charge.  The charging light doesn’t even go on.  Tried it a couple of times, the phone is dead.”

Me: “Let’s break it down.  The problem might not be the phone, that is just the part we see.  The problem could be the phone (the most expensive item to replace, of course!), but it could also be

• the cord, 
• the cube, 
• the outlet, 
• the connection between any of these components, or
• in many cases sometimes, ‘user error’ (a nice way to say I or you may be the problem).”
• And the problem was the charging cube, in case you were wondering.  The phone recharged and works fine.
  

I love a good challenge.  I love to solve mysteries and problems like this.  And yes, sometimes, the phone really is dead and the problem is exactly what it presents itself to be.

But sometimes it is not.

“Is the ceiling fan really dead?”

“… It doesn’t turn and the light won’t turn on.”

Yes, but is the ceiling fan the problem, or:

• Is there something wrong with the wall switch?
• Is the circuit tripped?
• Is it the on-off switch on the fan?
• Is it the connections in or out of any of these?
• (turns out, it was the connections in the ceiling to the base unit).

My handy husband and son spent an hour and solved the mystery a few weeks ago instead of just going out and spending money on a new fan which wouldn’t have worked either, because the problem was in the connections in the ceiling.

This works on more subjective challenges, too. 

“Hmmm, This person and I don’t seem to be communicating well.”  Is the problem with

• the message? (one of you doesn’t want to hear it or want to say it?); 
• how it is being said? (the tone, the jargon)
• the method of communication?  (you would prefer to text, the other person prefers to talk on the phone)
• the timing? (the sender or receiver is distracted by something else more important or urgent)
• something even more  personal or subjective with either the sender or receiver that has nothing to do with the process or method?

If you have a problem to solve, whether it is objective, like fixing a cell phone or ceiling fan, or more subjective like interpersonal communications, it pays to take a moment and break down the problem into smaller pieces that can be examined on their own.  Perhaps the solution is right in front of you!