"Use Your Head for More Than a Hat Rack"

“Use Your Head for More Than a Hat Rack”

“Use your head for more than a hat rack.”  That was one of my late paternal grandfather’s favorite sayings.  Each time I put on a hat, which is quite often given my love of hats, I think of that saying.  Though I hated hearing it while growing up, I have come to appreciate its enduring wisdom.  The saying speaks to the necessity of creativity and open-mindedness in problem solving. 

As Westerners, we are prisoners of linear thinking.  Regardless of the challenge and its circumstances, we take the same approach to it.  We attempt to resolve everything in the same logical, mathematical, and reductionistic manner.  We eliminate variables that do not fit into the equation.  We label those things that we do not understand as “strange phenomena.”  Our problem solving paradigms are essentially philosophical boxes that we refuse to discard or expand in the face of good reasons to the contrary. 

A story about a group of Eastern scientists illustrates the point.  These scientists were asked whether it is possible to grow cotton in the New England states.  Your average Westerner would immediately respond in the negative.  Considering the extensive winter, the low temperatures, hard soil and short spring and summer seasons, it appears to be a reasonable answer.  A linear approach would hardly reach any other conclusion.  However, the Eastern scientists respond, “We don’t know.  We have never been to the New England states.”  They leave open the possibility of discovering a way to grow cotton in the Northeast.  Furthermore, they seem open to any and all other opportunities.  Even if they eventually conclude that cotton will not grow there, perhaps they will serendipitously stumble upon something else that will grow profitably.

Problem solving in small as well as big matters requires thinking outside of the box.  Thinking is the operative word.  A fallacious, armchair analysis of any situation will never resolve it.  Practical and worthwhile solutions require time.  That is the essence of disciplined study, which necessitates a slow, methodical, multifaceted and versatile approach.  Whether it is a home plumbing problem or a longstanding personal dilemma, an effective resolution is the product of sustained reflection.  Admittedly, thinking is very difficult; that is why so few people engage in it.  Nevertheless, thinking is the surest means of finding an answer.

The previous sentence probably strikes you as trite, obvious, simplistic, circuitous and unnecessary.  However, you will agree that most people yearn for fast, easy and magic solutions to all their problems.  Calling a plumber is the immediate response to a leaky faucet or inoperative commode.  Yet, the emergence of Home Deport reveals that if we are willing to take the time to think about a problem, we discover that we can actually fix it.  Instead of spending $125 (parts and mostly labor) for a plumber, we can go to Lowes, spend $7 and fix the toilet.  The unwillingness to think costs tremendously.  In fact, a sector of the American economy profits solely from people’s mental laziness.

M. Scott Peck in his monumental book, The Road Less Traveled, says that we can resolve any situation.  More positively, we can achieve any personal or professional goal, if we are willing to take the time to think, practice and work.  This is a painstaking process.  The success that it gives never comes to those who are cognitively lazy and faint of heart.  Additionally, the late Norman Vincent Peale offers a five-fold approach to any challenge: (1) Don’t panic; (2) Get organized; (3) Pray; (4) Think; and (5) Apply what you have learned through prayer and meditation.  Then fourth step is the point at which we consider any innovative options that previously escaped our consideration.  We leave the Western linear box and engage the Eastern circular approach, which symbolizes the cycles and interconnectedness of life.  We appreciate all of the dimensions of a situation; thereby utilizing that information to assist in resolving the dilemma.

As you go about your daily chores at work, home, church, and elsewhere, I wholeheartedly encourage you to take “Granddaddy’s” advice.  Use your head for more than a hat rack.  Regardless of the challenges that befall you, know that you possess the mental and internal resources to find a workable resolution.  Pull aside from the situation and start “PMSing.” That is Pray, Meditate and engage the spiritual discipline of Self-evaluation.  That triad will give you the originality and adaptability to solve any problem.