CONTROL FREAK vs PROBLEM SOLVER

A control freak is someone who over emphasizes vulnerability and tries to limit risk. When something goes wrong they do one of 3 things: they freeze up until they figure or something else they should control in order to avoid future risk, they blame someone else/ hire someone else to deal with the problem rather than learning how to deal with the unknown, they copy others who are successful hoping it will lead them to the same success and in the process avoid risk.

A problem solver is someone who isn't afraid to take risk / responsibility on themselves. They accept that vulnerability is part of the natural world and when plans change they are able to adapt, modify and continue. It is not a learned skill or adopted trait - it's an attitude. Ironically, a control freak's approach to becoming a problem solver is to look for the steps or method of adopting the traits of a problem solver.

I met this runner after a long group run talking about how he walks on a treadmill for recovery. No matter how hard the previous effort had been walking was a pure miracle for recovery. The way he was so animated and filled with conviction I immediately thought that I should buy the first treadmill I could get my hands on. Or at least that I should try this whole walking thing in some modified way. It's funny how our brains work like this. We see something working for someone else, and immediately think that if we do the same things we will be as successful as them. This is why nike puts it's logo on athletes, why budweiser has beautiful people having fun in all of it's ads. This false association got me thinking more about that runners solution. He wasn't fired-up on his unique method because he read it in a book or saw someone successful doing it. He believed in it because he discovered it for himself. It's problem solving. Taking the 'problem' of recovery and experimenting, researching, attempting to find your own way through.