Hiccups

Yesterday I had two varied problems. I kept getting hiccups. And I went and deleted this post by mistake.

The hiccups kept coming in spells and I sorted out them out as and when they came – very calmly, no panic. How’s that you ask? That’s because:

I’ve had hiccups several times in the past and
I have a tried and tested method of getting rid of them. Don’t laugh, but’s that how I sort them out in seconds – and doesn’t it look like a fun thing to do?

That’s the method I use to cure hiccups!

Deleting the post was a whole different case of hiccups. At first I couldn’t believe what I had done and just how stupid I had been. This post was special to me because the author of the book I had shared the poem from, honored Everyday Gyaan with a visit and a comment! So I was pushing the panic button……How do I retrieve that post and its comments?

What did I do?

Calmed myself and thought of the worst possible scenario – the burial of the post!
Wrote down the exact problem and tried to think of possible solutions.
Turned to Google – what else – and found the solution.

Perfect, I thought and began working on it. But I found that I was so focused on solving the problem that I was missing out a big step that was clearly given in the solution. I kept trying again and again and got increasingly frustrated.

You think that because you understand one you understand two, because one and one makes two. But you must understand AND. ~ Sufi Proverb

Thankfully, I was saved by my husband calling me for our morning coffee – we chatted, drank and read the newspapers. And when I came back to the computer, I re-read the instructions, followed them and restored the post complete with comments and all!

Know, find or create the solution. ~ Andrew Hoover

My learning from all this? When faced with a problem – especially one you haven’t encountered before:

Stay calm and think of your options.
Write down your problem and probable solutions. As Charles Kettering said, ‘A problem well stated is a problem half solved”
Look to the experts for a solution. Why re-invent the wheel, if you can avoid it?
Follow a step-by-step method – either yours or the experts’.
If you aren’t able to solve the problem – take a break. Stop thinking about the problem. Engage yourself in other activities – day-to-day tasks. And then go back to work. 9 times out of 10 you’ll have your solution. It was probably staring you in the face all the while, but your mind was overcrowded.