When I was a child, I recall people talking about dogs getting rabies and distemper. Since then I have seen many instances where rabies was mentioned in the news or in a movie setting, etc.  Yet, I have heard no mention of distemper in dogs. Perhaps, in dogs, it is a very rare disorder?

I remember a book, by Peter C. Newman, called 'The Distemper of Our Times' - a work describing Canada's political situation. But, I do not hear people talking about that any more.

I understand distemper applies to both a disease experienced by animals and politics...I suspect it also applies to a mindset-behaviour combination experienced by a small number of human beings. 

While I have never seen mad dogs exhibiting the impact of distemper I have seen human beings illustrating it.  Recently, I have had the inconvenience of experiencing a couple of people who struggle with distemper.  These two people have some striking similarities. They are both incredibly self-focused, apparently oblivious to the needs of others and possibly unable to understand the needs of others.  And both people are consumed by a violent rage.  Needless to say, these people wreak havoc in their business settings.  At least, that's the opinion of the people who work with them.

That opinion about the havoc they wreak is not an opinion they grasp, acknowledge, accept or validate. Distempered people appear to live in a world of their own. Their lives appear to be full of stress and anxiety….and relentless waves of vehement anger. Yet, they do not understand the extent of the damage.

You may think these people are doomed to fail at work. From my observations it seems this is not true, at least in the short term. These people are able to force their way through  business people and business problems. So, with forceful action, they are able to obtain a level of business success. Yet, the business atmospheres they create and prevail over are uncomfortable, mind-damaging and [for many people] unbearable. 

We experience stress as we work to discover our Talents.

We experience stress as we work to use opportunities, gain education and practice skills, using our Talents to build our Strengths.

We experience stress as we work to use our Strengths to achieve our Goals.

Here's the picture...

Stress is damaging and unhealthy except when you choose to use its energy to achieve success in your work and your life.

Introduction

As some of you know, for many years I have talked about P=2S+O: [link to about 50 P=2S+O Thought Tweets & Thought Posts]

• bosses don't like to hear Problems
• when you have a problem you should always be able to come up with 2 Solutions...and keep your eyes open for Opportunities

[Inspired, in part, by “Opportunities ride on the wings of adversity”.]

[Reflecting Spirited Leaders’ philosophies for personal Strengths.]

[Aligned with Spirited Leaders philosophy “People Do Only 3 Things: Good Habits, Bad Habits & New Things".]

The Issue, again, under Consideration

On a number of occasions, people have suggested or argued I should not speak of 'problems'. Instead, I should remove the word 'problem' from my vocabulary and my P=2S+O formula and replace it with the word 'challenge'. That happened to me, again, last week.

5 years ago, I wrote about this topic...Problems still confound the motivational experts. Last week, my attitude was in a zone where contemplation of this topic resonated. So, here I am, again, considering and writing about 'problems' versus 'challenges'. 

My first thought was - Why am I so adamant against replacing 'problem' with 'challenge'? Is it a vote in favour of my literary licence? Am I simply being obstinate? Or, am I crusading for the word 'problem' because my thinking is accurate or more textured? If it is the latter then, at the very least, I should come up with some more arguments to support the use of the word 'problem'. My efforts 5 years ago appear to be too weak.

Those arguments/points, in summary, were:

• The word ‘Problem’ is not the problem with problems. 
• I do not believe we can trick the subconscious mind into believing those things called Problems somehow are eased by changing their names to Challenges. 

Today, I find myself offering another perspective: Problems are things that trouble us and, to some degree, cause us to want to deliver solutions. I believe the word 'problem' has a clear and simple meaning. The word 'challenge', however, has a number of meanings and nuances. Its meanings range from 'difficult problem' to 'call to take part in a contest' to 'a query regarding the truth of something...i.e., a demand for proof'.

It seems to me, people who want to replace the word 'problem' with the word 'challenge' are thinking 'challenge' is a softer, less-distressful or more-inspiring word than 'problem'. Or possibly they are thinking everyone should view distressful things that need/demand/ought to have solutions as invitations to contests. If they are thinking the former way then I believe they are ignoring the fact dictionaries define 'challenges' as difficult problems [not easy-to-solve problems]. If they are thinking 'problems' ought to be viewed as 'contests' then I disagree...some problems are so small they do not warrant 'contest-thinking' or 'contest-action'. 

Of most importance - When we want to help people who are struggling, we should aim for simplicity. 

With simplicity -

A problem is a thing that troubles us and, to some degree, causes us to consider solutions. Problems may or may not be extremely troubling: they may be minor in scope and scale. Little of value arises if every problem is viewed as an invitation to a contest. Philosophies covering the handling of problems should not be expressed in terms of winners and losers [which, of course, is the essence of contests]. 

Conversely, when considered within the context of problems, challenges are defined as especially troubling problems. 

And, there is more context to bear in mind when considering my P=2S+O philosophy. The philosophy was developed as a tool to be used when people are struggling with delegation of decisions. Specifically, the P=2S+O tool was developed to help:

• people who took problems to their bosses, asking their bosses for solutions
• bosses who had not developed a productive way to deal with the people who reported to them and were struggling to solve problems without help

Perhaps, some of the people who took problems to their bosses believed the problems were extreme [i.e., believed their problems were challenges]. However, often their bosses did not view the problems as challenges. And, none of the people I was working to help viewed their decisions, delegations, situations or interactions as contests. 

For these reasons, I continue to believe the word ‘Problem’ is not the problem with problems. And, I continue to see no value in trying to trick the subconscious mind into believing a replacement of the word ‘Problem’ with the word ‘Challenge’. Furthermore, even if there might be value in performing such a word-replacement trick, I believe the subconscious mind, if it has been exposed to the generally-accepted definitions of the word [noun] ‘challenge’, cannot be tricked into accepting a new definition.

In Conclusion

I must stick with calling problems Problems. 

And, P=2S+O must remain the P=2S+O it has been since its conception.

P=2S+O  remains - Before you take a Problem to your boss for a solution...work to generate at least 2 Solutions and keep your mind open to receive Opportunities. 

And,

If you practice P=2S+O then your boss will be most appreciative. 

If you practice P=2S+O then you will develop problem-solving skills. 

If you practice P=2S+O then you will build self-confidence.