As a human being, you will probably have been given a problem to solve. This does not mean you have to be in school – many problems come from our experiences in daily life. What you probably didn’t know are the steps you have to go through to solve problems. Read on and find out what they are.

The first part is when your mind absorbs as much information about the problem as you can scrounge around for. This means you take in not just valid information but plenty of misinformation as well.

The second stage is when you start to dive into the ocean of information you have absorbed - trying to find out which are facts, what the problem is all about, and what answers your mind can conjure up.

Next, you try to get as much information which are probably correct from your mind. You have to write down which information you have selected.

This next stage involves getting the opinion of another person about the problem confronting you. You will share the new ideas you have come up with and leave yourself open to criticism. In this stage, the ideas which do not pass muster will be tossed aside.

What follows is a meeting of minds: you and your partner have to pit your brains against one another in an attempt to get new ideas.

The sixth stage involves you and your partner looking carefully at which ideas can pass the test of reason and which should be discarded. Only a few ideas will survive this stage.

In the seventh phase, you will probably be drained of ideas and you want to try other activities. Though you will be doing other things, your mind will keep working on the problem. This leads to the eight stage which is…

When ideas start to link to one another in your mind and you suddenly realize that a solution was there all along. You will find that this may happen when your guard is down and you are busy with other activities.

The ninth stage involves you and your partner/s relying on your resources (talents + skills) to hew and shape the solution into the right format.

Hold on there! That is not the last stage! Even when you already have a solution, you may still have doubts that it is the right one. In which case, you should test out the solution until you are satisfied with it. If not, then you go back to step one.

By Richard Quek Get your F-R-E-E Self Improvement Tips sent to you daily - http://www.motiveology.com/