Seventeen Ways to Overcome Obstacles
How do you overcome obstacles that seem to have no solutions? Some problems seem so overwhelming that there is no obvious way to a place of light and possibility. I propose there are seventeen solutions to any problem and here is how I discovered this.
Over fifty years ago, after being diagnosed with MS I was trying to figure out how to care for two toddlers and a marriage falling apart. I was overwhelmed by many other problems, big and small…and totally stuck in victim mode.
I poured out my litany of helplessness to my physician, hoping for a magic pill that would restore my equilibrium— or at least anesthetize my pain.
Dr. Mullins was an ‘old-school’ British doc, certified in both neurology and psychiatry, who had a strict, no-nonsense approach to her practice. She had little patience with tales of woe and, thankfully, was not inclined to provide numbing drugs or other ‘unnecessary’ treatments.
Her manner bordered on gruffness, but there was always a twinkle in her eye.
She looked directly at me and said, “There are seventeen reasons for every problem.”
Clearly, she wasn’t going to allow me to blame everything I was going through on MS. I left that day both humbled and encouraged.
Discovering the power of Seventeen
Later on, I was reflecting on her words. (Reflection has been a very long practice in my life!)
It made sense to me that if there are seventeen reasons behind the creation of a problem, there must be seventeen solutions. I grabbed onto this idea and saw my life do a ‘180.’
I called this new approach the ‘Power of Seventeen”.
You might think of the “seventeen solutions approach” as a type of brainstorming with a twist. Brainstorming works when you have many ideas of how to solve a problem, and you want to choose the right one.
In my scenario, I felt like I had NO solutions to mitigate the difficult circumstances in my life.
I had received this MS diagnosis as a young mom of 2 toddlers. It was soon followed by the end of my marriage and financial disaster. In my despair, I cried out to anyone who would listen. What can I do? Where can I go? How am I going to go on?
I quickly tired of hearing advice from all corners of my world.
I felt like I hit a wall and had no idea where to begin.
I took Dr. Mullins’s advice literally, and because I trusted everything she told me, I decided to apply this approach to a specific problem.
I faced the dilemma of how to feed a family of three when I had no money for groceries. Boys get hungry!
How to use the power of seventeen
The secret to using the formula of seventeen is to allow your imagination freedom to roam. Nothing is off-limits!
Some solutions may be illegal (I could steal some money.).
Some may be immoral (I could sell my body), or both. I could sell my sons into slavery, beg door-to-door, or marry a millionaire.
Let’s see— that is only five. But I write them all down. This is an important step. It provides a feedback loop to a mind falling off the tracks.
Some of the ’solutions’ leave me chuckling.’ A workable solution is bound to appear.
Going from the ridiculous to the impossible, I thought about taking a job on a lobster boat. I always thought that would be fun, but I didn’t live near the ocean, and I got wretchedly seasick. Nope. That wouldn’t be possible.
Nor was going back to school to get a good job. Hunger won’t wait that long for a solution. At least five more impossible solutions came to mind until I remembered my neighbor who was going on a two-month trip. Who will cultivate and harvest the garden she planted? I know she doesn’t want it to go to seed.
TaDa! She was thrilled to let me harvest her garden and gave me all the tomatoes, cukes, squash and corn that remained by the time she left on her trip. (Actually, this is quite Biblical. Called gleaning, it was one way the rich supported the poor in those days.)
The secret behind the Power of Seventeen is creativity and imagination. So often we think all possible solutions must be about viable alternatives, and when they are few or missing we forget how creative our brains can be if we give them a chance.
Over the years, I have used the Power of Seventeen to find new housing, start a business, care for a loved one—and pick up again after he died, leave a job, and discover new talents and possibilities. The impetus for going on when I thought my train had crashed comes from the creative energy released with imagination.
Steps to begin using the power of seventeen
Here are some steps for beginning a Power of Seventeen practice.
Begin with naming the problem accurately. There will never be a solution until the problem is identified. I once thought my problem was a disease that had no cure. Where else could that lead me except to despair?
Once I could name my problem as an inconvenience instead of an integral piece of my identity, I had all sorts of possibilities open up.
Today, I find myself connecting with people all over the world as a writer and blogger.
The second step is to open your mind to the ridiculous, the impossible, and the inconceivable. It may take all seventeen possibilities to reveal a working solution to your problem.
Are you open to belly dancing? Sky diving? Growing worms in your cellar? I did that once. It was not too successful as an income source, but it was perfect for together time with two little boys.
The third step is to move from the typical flapping of arms when tossed overboard to using measured strokes against the tides of whatever threatens to drown you. This is possible when you don’t look too far ahead and learn to focus only on the present moment.
Life is doable, one footstep, one broad stroke, one wing flap at a time as long as you know there are seventeen solutions to your problem. After all, you only need one!
The secret to overcoming a difficult challenge is having the right attitude. Instead of becoming discouraged, fearing failure, or feeling overwhelmed by how difficult it may be to solve, it’s important to remain positive and keep coming up with different solutions until something works out.
Would you like to continue to reflect with me about life’s challenges?
