Einstein once explained the difference between the way he solves problems and the way most people solve them. “When asked to find a needle in a haystack, most people simply look for the needle. I look for all possible needles.” Leonardo da Vinci had the same practice. Before focusing on any one possible solution, he would visualize all possible solutions.
If you are looking for “the” solution to the problem you are facing, this may be part of the problem in and of itself. Without knowing it, you have chosen to believe that there is only one best solution to the problem. In so doing, you have already cut off hundreds, if not thousands, of other possible solutions. In addition, you have created in your mind a picture of what the perfect solution should look like – and that’s the only solution you are actually looking for.