Perhaps now is the time that I feel like talking about our motivation. In other words, I am riding a wave to talk about it. And it is better to tell all of them during this period, in my experience.
So today, I will talk about how to get a good answer efficiently when we have troubles.
How to get a good answer
Sometimes, we want a good answer when we have troubles in life. We might worry about choices, such as whether to buy or not, whether to insist or not, or whether to do or not. Or we might want to know how others deal with it. We might want to know how we live well.
In other words, we lose confidence. So, we want a good answer.
In such a situation, try thinking about who is the best answerer with our problems. This might help us to get a good answer efficiently.
The three categories of answerers
To explain it, we use the three elements of a “good environment” I introduced in the previous article (this article) again.
When we have a problem, try thinking about which of the following three categories the problem is in:
- The long-term problem: The question of how to live. We want to know what the goal is. The best answerer is ourselves. “Which person do I want to emulate?” Emulating the ideal people for us tells us an appropriate way.
- The middle-term problem: The question of how to do. We want the answer when the goal is obvious, but the way is unclear. The best answerer is our companions, who have a similar goal as us. They tell us ways. And we can choose from them.
- The short-term problem: The question to know our condition. Our goal and ways are clear. But we want the answer to decide which way is more efficient. The best answerer is our followers, who share our goals and styles. We can ask questions with choices. And our followers can choose from them.
The steps to get a solution
This separation tells us how to solve our problems efficiently.
When we have troubles, we first distinguish if it is a long-term problem. And if it is, the root problem is that we don’t have a clear direction in life. So, we will find an appropriate answer by emulating our ideal people.
If we want to try a new direction in life, we can start with small things we can afford. So, we can try it easier because we don’t have to make a big decision.
And if it is not a long-term problem, we can relax a little because we are going in the right direction. In other words, we can find that it won’t affect our long-term lives.
Then, we think about whether it is a middle-term problem. And if it is, the root problem is we don’t know ways to accomplish our goals. So, our companions, who have similar goals with us, will give us an appropriate answer.
And if it is also not a middle-term problem, we can relax a little more because it is a small problem. Even if we make a mistake, it will only be a small loss in the short term.
Finally, if we want to know our short-term answer, we can ask our followers who share our goals and ways. They will be willing to tell us about our special conditions compared to the ordinary. Then, we can decide it.
Getting an appropriate answer with pleasure
If we ask each answerer—ourselves, our companions, or our followers—an appropriate question, they will be willing to answer it.
But if we confuse them, we cannot get an appropriate answer. Furthermore, we could hurt their feelings because they know they don’t need to answer it.
For example, our mentors are not usually willing to answer detailed questions, such as “Which is better?” or “What should I do in my case?” Because mentors don’t know our situations and middle-term goals. And it is hard to know our detailed conditions for them.
And our companions and followers are the same. The different levels of questions make them confused. The longer-term goal is our problem. And the more detailed problem is based on our conditions.
In my experience, the less someone is aware of the long-term goal, the more the person tends to ask others for details. On the other hand, people who get answers with pleasure do well in their lives.
The bottom line
So, when we have troubles, try to think about who is the best answerer. There are three categories of answerers: ourselves, companions, and followers.
Appropriate answers make our lives easier.
That separation might help us improve our lives efficiently.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you at the next one.
