photo credit: squirrel brand
This is a guest post by Marty BoneIdol
How to find answers to the riddles of life.
If you have ever entered a quiz competition or watched a game show on the TV, the questions presented fairly often appear quite complicated.
As a ten year old boy, I took a school exam at that time called The Eleven plus (11+). This was only really required in the south east of the UK where senior schools were comprised of “Grammar†(for the brighter kids) and “Secondary Modernâ€. It was pretty much a compulsory test at that time and I failed it miserably! I don’t think it was a reflection of my intelligence. I’d argue that the opposite is true. The result of that experience recommended that I be placed in the lowest stream of a secondary modern school. The exam result, upon reflection also further knocked my confidence.
You see, recalling that experience, I believe that I tried to seek deeper meaning to the questions asked on that exam paper. The answers were simple enough but I bypassed the obvious looking for something far more deeper and complicated. I’m aware that I still do this today to a large extent. Sometimes, the answers to our questions are far more obvious than we realize. There is a great example of this in the book/film “The Lord of the Ringsâ€.
Gandalf, Frodo and the fellowship has tried to cross the mountains without success and had to revert to entering the Mines of Moria. Arriving at the entrance, they were posed with a riddle to open the entrance. The instructions stated “Speak friend and enterâ€. Gandalf with all his wisdom tried many spells and command in a vain attempt to open the gateway without success. The riddle was solved by Frodo who realized the obvious instruction “Speak ‘friend’ and enterâ€. The lowly hobbit asked Gandalf what the Elvish word for “friend†was. “Mellon” Once Gandalf spoke the word, the gateway unlocked.
So often, we seek complicated solutions to life problems, where in fact the answers are often simple and obvious. We can solve problem by reframing the questions we ask or reframing the problem.
Marty is a married man with 3 children. His day job involves delivering treatment to clients suffering with substance misuse problems. Marty is also a life coach and has been blogging since 2006 about self development. Marty has been a musician for over 35 years. He plays trombone for "Beggars' Belief" a successful band in his local area.
This is so true. I have such a tendency to overthink and overcomplicate things. Thanks so much for the reminder to KISS (Keep it simple stupid).
Hugs,
Melody
Melody | DeliberateReceiving invites you to read… 3 Spiritual Rules You Can Ignore
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
KISS. I like that acronym Melody. Not seen that one before. Thank you.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
I love that story! It reminds me of “who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” (Grant, of course).
So if my question is, “what do I need to do more of or differently, so that I can quadruple my income?” I would need to reframe it or think about finding the answer within the question.
Do what works four times more often?
Find four different ways to do what works?
Actually, what came to mind as the question formed was to brainstorm two columns: “more often” and “differently.”
Jeanine Byers Hoag @ Dressing My Truth invites you to read… Scooby Doo & The Case of the Ice Cream Sundaes
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Greta bit of Reframing Jeanine. Thank you.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Hey Marty,
That was a neat one. I absolutely love Lord of the Rings.
How so true that we try to decipher things with all of our intelligence and neglect that the simplest is most of the time the solution.
Lovely story, Marty! Thanks!
Tosin
Tosin@Home-based Business Coach invites you to read… Phone Prospecting Script- Why are You not Calling
[Reply]
Thanks Tosin. I’m glad you liked it.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Really enjoyed this post, Marty. The points you make are really vital. It’s easy to get so obsessed with the problem that we fail to see the “forest for the trees”.
Thanks for this great Monday reminder!
Steve @ Karmic Kappuccino invites you to read… Espresso Shot Quote- Frankl
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Thank you Steve.
I’ve just re-read this post myself and I’m pleased that I kept it relatively short and to the point. That, in itself is a simple answer.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Marty,
Thanks again for this great post! You make a really important point here.
I can really appreciate it because in school I had similar issues with making tests more complicated than they were. I was horrible with multiple choice answers because I could convince myself that all of the answers looked right, or they all looked wrong. I could ace a written test most any day because I could just showcase what I knew!
This is a great takeaway for my real life problems!
Thanks!
Stacy
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Stacy, thank you and bless you for allowing me to guest on your site. When you agreed, I resolved to write something I felt would be worthy on your blog.
We write not only to share lessons for others, but also to remind ourselves.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Thank you, Marty! You are too kind, and this is a great post! Thank you for sharing it here!
[Reply]
Hi Marty,
love that story. Sometimes the answer lies already in the question. I got this thought when reading your conclusion.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Take care
Oliver
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Thanks Oliver,
That really is the point, the answers we require really are in the question. It takes looking for.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Hi Marty,
Excellent analogy. Being a huge LOTR fan, it works for me
What we want, we have. What we seek, is often-times right in front of our face. We overcomplicated things, and simplify them. It’s always our choice.
Lose the conditioning life is supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be effortless. If we could learn to face, embrace and release our emotions and get comfortable with being uncomfortable, it becomes easier to find the answers, which are within our grasp at all times.
Thanks!
RB
Ryan Biddulph invites you to read… 2 Lessons from Bali &124 One in Persistence- One in Connections
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
True Ryan,
The best movies always have great life messages in them. I was reminded of the message in the film “Field of Dreams” Build it and they will come. In other words, create something that people want and it markets itself. Thank you for your affirmation.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Boy can I ever relate Marty! Just keep it simple stupid! Dah!!!
I over think so many things and then when it’s presented to me in simple terms I feel horrible. All that time wasted when I should have just kept it simple. Ah, but is the way of life isn’t it!
Thanks for sharing. Loved it!
Adrienne
Adrienne invites you to read… How Do The Pros Really Make Money Online
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 10:54 am
Bless you Adrienne.
Even the feeling horrible when discovering that we thought someting is complicated does not really serve us. The issue is, we found the answer. That is clearly better than not finding it al all.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Hi Marty,
Profound wrap-up to this. I read and re-read that close: “We can solve problem by reframing the questions we ask or reframing the problem.”
It never ceases to amaze me how prone we are to getting in our own way, wouldn’t you agree?
Jon
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 10:55 am
Hi Jon,
I do agree that we can get in our own way. The point is that when we realise what we have done, we can make the change.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Hi Marty,
Interesting post and awesome analogy. You’ve made great points and i love the point about reframing the questions to solve the problem.
Thanks for sharing this great guest post. Great work, Marty.
~Dev
Devesh invites you to read… Web Hosting- The Features That Really Matter For Small Websites
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 19th, 2011 at 1:33 am
Thanks for your affirmation Devesh.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Hey Marty … what’s a nice boy like you doing in a place like this??
Ha ha (sorry Stacy… couldn’t resist
) Picture Mutley of Scooby Doo laughing.
Marty, I could not agree more with the fact that we often over complicate things. In fact I am the Cup winner of that category.
We need to be simple, and just look at what things are, instead of trying to find a catch, or read something into something that isn’t there.
I love the way you pointed this out and compared it with the 11+.
BTW, in Halifax Yorkshire, they had to take the 11+… all my cousins did, but we came to Canada when I was 9 so I missed it!
great to see you here Marty, I have a lot of catching up to do on your blog!
Jayne Kopp invites you to read… Online Business Reasons for Failure
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 10:58 am
Hi Jayne my lovely smiling lady!
I love your sense of humour here. I look forward to seeing you dropping a comment or two on my page. In fact I’m writing a kind of follow up to this post on my page today.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Cute, Jayne!
[Reply]
You’re definitely right. Life can seem very complicated to me at times, but when I reframe things it seems much more clearer. To me, life can be tough and hard to figure out, but when I see it as a temporary existence where I need to enjoy my experiences, then it becomes more simple
Henway invites you to read… Medifast Snack Ideas
[Reply]
Thank you for your insight Henway.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret of Creating Powerful Memories
[Reply]
There are something in life we can not explain so we should konw how to simplify thóe to have a comfortable life.Thanks for your sharing
van025 invites you to read… How can I sell my Mexican Mayan Palace timeshare
[Reply]
Hi Marty!
You and Jane are too funny.
You’ve mention my favorite movie. It’s it amazing as simple as the hobbit looks, his simple ways save the world.
I can’t wait until the Hobbit comes out.
Tisha
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Hi Tisha.
I’m looking forward to The Hobbit too. Juts noticed your latest blog and have to go visit because it is to do with my day job!
Marty invites you to read… The Secret to Re-framing Problems
[Reply]
Hi Marty,
Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one. I tend to over-think things sometimes myself. Using the “Lord of the Rings” as an analogy works very well.
The Hobbit, thought to be on the low end of intelligence in Middle Earth, is constantly surprising the others in the fellowship, with his intelligence and bravery.
We need to look at things through different eyes sometimes, in order to see the right path.
Thanks for sharing Marty and have a great day!
Ian Belanger@Network Marketing Success invites you to read… Blokube Review
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Thank you Ian.
I’ve had more experience of this today trying to solve a problem I had with my PC. An inspired search string gave me the answer. I may well write about it tomorrow.
Marty invites you to read… The Secret to Re-framing Problems
[Reply]
I extremely agree that sometimes, the answers to our questions are far more obvious than we realize. When we are confused, we tend to over look at some things. We keep on finding and searching on something that can help us find the answer to our problems. But little do we know that we seek complicated solutions to life problems, where in fact the answers are often simple and obvious. this is very true. Thanks for sharing this one! This is an inspiration for me…
jojo invites you to read… Reasons Why Online Dating is Fun!
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Thank you jojo
Marty invites you to read… Why Is Nobody Listening To Me
[Reply]
thank you nice work
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
July 1st, 2011 at 10:46 pm
You are welcome Danish
Marty invites you to read… The Secret to Positive Relationships
[Reply]
Answers to our own riddles depend on how we view it. There’s certainty or any exact answer to that, it varies a lot between people. But of course there are still preferred answers to each riddle. Humans are very complicated being, the uniqueness of each one the major reason for that.
Antonia@Conversational hypnosis invites you to read… Is There A Dark Side Of Hypnosis?
[Reply]
Marty Reply:
July 14th, 2011 at 12:02 am
Thank you Antonia,
I agree with you that it is how we view the “riddle”. On an individual basis, people find answers that work for them. Those answers may seem to be the same problem as appears to be for someone else. The issue is not that it is the same problem, it may or may not be. It is finding the answer that is satisfactory according to an individuals frame of reference.
Marty invites you to read… The Benefits of Free Thinking
[Reply]
There is one thing in your life that you have mustered up your courage and worked with confidence.
[Reply]
Hello Marty! Great perspective about answering questions. I’ve been experienced it too when I was a student the answer of the questions in the exam is very much obvious but then I think deeper that brought me and made me failed. It is about ignoring the obvious answer with that simple questions. I love the word “reframing the question and the problem”. Thanks much because you made me think and realize everything about the facts of life.
Lane Sheehy invites you to read… Tires For Sale
[Reply]
After reading I found myself thinking about how my perception of the world have changed since I were young. Thanks for a great story!
[Reply]
Lovely story!
I agree the perception of the world from when you were younger greatly changes!!
[Reply]