Lecture 60- Problem Solving and Decision Making — Transcript

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1. 0:16Namaskar friends. I'm Shubra Sha your
2. 0:19course instructor and we are going to
3. 0:22learn lecture five of module 12 of the
4. 0:26stress management course. This lecture
5. 0:30in continuation with its previous
6. 0:33lectures is going to focus on another
7. 0:36important life skill that is making
8. 0:40decisions which are quick and accurate
9. 0:43and solving problems in an effective
10. 0:46way. Let us see what I have for you in
11. 0:51this book.
12. 0:54This is the precap of what we are going
13. 0:57to learn today.
14. 0:59This lecture is divided into three
15. 1:02segments. Not the lecture rather I
16. 1:05should say the skills of decision making
17. 1:08and problem solving can be divided into
18. 1:11three parts. The first part is of the
19. 1:15foundational mindset and skills. The
20. 1:18second part is the unified stepbystep
21. 1:21guide to decision making and uh problem
22. 1:25solving. And the third part is the
23. 1:27advanced techniques and considerations
24. 1:30for the process.
25. 1:33Usually in our daily life we all
26. 1:37struggle with the problems of making
27. 1:39decisions and solving problems
28. 1:42efficiently. Now these decisions and
29. 1:44problems can range from very minor daily
30. 1:48uh issues to very significant and
31. 1:51challenging ones that we face seldom in
32. 1:54our lives. However, developing decision
33. 1:58making and problem solving skills can
34. 2:01significantly reduce the stress level by
35. 2:04improving upon the outcomes of our
36. 2:07decisions and leading us to more
37. 2:10effective and fulfilling personal and
38. 2:13professional lives.
39. 2:16Coming to the first part of this skill
40. 2:19set which refers to the foundational
41. 2:22mindset and skill which must be there
42. 2:25before we can move on to the actual
43. 2:29process of decision making or problem
44. 2:31solving. So cultivating the right
45. 2:34mindset and foundational skills
46. 2:38are essential.
47. 2:41What this include? This include
48. 2:44selfawareness. We have already talked
49. 2:47about it. That is one must recognize
50. 2:49one's own values, priorities, cognitive
51. 2:53biases and things like that and our
52. 2:56emotional tendencies too. The second
53. 2:59important thing is we must have a growth
54. 3:03mindset. If I believe that I am complete
55. 3:08in my present terms, if I do not want to
56. 3:12grow, if I do not find anything that can
57. 3:15be added to my existing behavioral
58. 3:18repertoire, I am stagnant at the point
59. 3:21where I am. So instead of stagnation,
60. 3:25one must choose the growth mindset. must
61. 3:28be open and ready to learn new things
62. 3:32and to modify the pre-existing things
63. 3:35whenever they are required.
64. 3:38One must learn to manage one's emotions
65. 3:41with the help of emotion regulation
66. 3:43techniques which we have already learned
67. 3:46in earlier modules and we must not lose
68. 3:50curiosity.
69. 3:52The second part is the unified guide for
70. 3:56decision making as well as problem
71. 3:59solving. See both these processes
72. 4:03although they are distinct they are
73. 4:05integrally correlated to each other.
74. 4:08Whenever you go to solve a problem you
75. 4:10have to make a series of decision. You
76. 4:14have to take a series of decisions small
77. 4:17or big otherwise you won't be able to
78. 4:21solve the problem successfully. So
79. 4:24decision making is an essential
80. 4:26component of the overall problem solving
81. 4:30behavior. Therefore whenever we talk
82. 4:33about the required skills most of the
83. 4:36skills we need for these things are in
84. 4:40common.
85. 4:41The step one here is identification and
86. 4:45defining the problem or decision
87. 4:47whatever we are engaged in. So this
88. 4:50particular step includes recognizing the
89. 4:53issue about which we have to take a
90. 4:56decision or which is causing problem to
91. 4:58us. Then we need to define it precisely
92. 5:01and we must be able to dis distinguish
93. 5:06symptoms from the root cause. Most
94. 5:10happens that we misidentify
95. 5:14symptoms as problems. For example,
96. 5:17whenever we visit the clinic of a doctor
97. 5:20and the doctor asked what are you
98. 5:22suffering from? I said that I'm
99. 5:25suffering from fever. But fever is not
100. 5:28the actual problem rather it is the
101. 5:31symptom of some other problem. So what
102. 5:34doctor does being a professional he
103. 5:36tries to identify the actual problem
104. 5:39with the help of blood test with the
105. 5:41help of many other diagnostic testing.
106. 5:44Okay. If the doctor tries to treats
107. 5:47fever only without taking care of the
108. 5:51actual cause which is making that
109. 5:54temperature to rise
110. 5:57he can never be successful in treating
111. 6:00the patient. This is true for decision
112. 6:03making and problem solving behavior
113. 6:05also. We are so puzzled with the
114. 6:09symptoms of the problem that we start
115. 6:12believing that those symptoms are the
116. 6:14real problems
117. 6:16which is actually incorrect which is
118. 6:18actually false. Right? Then we have to
119. 6:22identify and then frame the problem or
120. 6:25the issue effectively.
121. 6:28We should gather relevant information
122. 6:30about the problem or the issue and then
123. 6:33analyze the situation completely. Data
124. 6:37should be collected from different
125. 6:39sources from as many sources as possible
126. 6:42but at the same time from reliable
127. 6:46sources only. Otherwise the conclusions
128. 6:49drawn will be faulty and biased leading
129. 6:52us to draw incorrect
130. 6:55uh this in incorrect inferences.
131. 6:59Uh we must assess the quality of the
132. 7:02information that we have received. Of
133. 7:04course, here also comes the uh question
134. 7:07of reliability of the resources and the
135. 7:10way we have collected the information
136. 7:13and we should also analyze the context
137. 7:15in which that particular information has
138. 7:18been given by a particular person. Then
139. 7:22comes a step three which is the
140. 7:25brainstorming session that is creating
141. 7:28all possible solutions that can be tried
142. 7:32in order to solve a problem or various
143. 7:36kind of options which are available
144. 7:39for making decisions. So at this point
145. 7:43one must brainstorm freely without uh
146. 7:47really being concerned about the quality
147. 7:50of the options which are being produced
148. 7:52or the feasibility of the options which
149. 7:55are be being produced. Uh the options
150. 7:58should be as diverse as possible and our
151. 8:02emphasis should be on the quantity at
152. 8:04this stage over quality. This is the
153. 8:07initial stage. So as many uh options
154. 8:11many uh options that we can generate
155. 8:14will be good for us.
156. 8:16Then comes step four that is uh we have
157. 8:21created a number of options during the
158. 8:23initial brainstorming session and now
159. 8:26this is the time to weigh the
160. 8:28feasibility and appropriateness of all
161. 8:32those options which are generated during
162. 8:35the first session first step. Uh we
163. 8:40should assess the pros and cons. We
164. 8:42should assess the feasibility of
165. 8:45implementing those options. We should
166. 8:47assess the resources that we have and we
167. 8:51should also assess the uh societal
168. 8:54approach towards those options. Some of
169. 8:56the options can be socially valued,
170. 8:59others may not be. Similarly, we should
171. 9:03be aware of one's own cognitive biases.
172. 9:06Sometimes it is own bias which represent
173. 9:09a particular option as being very good
174. 9:12as being lucrative over the other
175. 9:15possible alternatives which is actually
176. 9:17not true. So honest risk assessment
177. 9:21honest cost and benefit ratio assessment
178. 9:25is important for what we want to do.
179. 9:29Then comes the step five. Once we have
180. 9:32done with all this assessment, we have
181. 9:34evaluated each option with respect to
182. 9:38its feasibility, its effectiveness, we
183. 9:42should choose one of them
184. 9:44wholeheartedly.
185. 9:46One of them wholeheartedly means then we
186. 9:49must not regret upon not choosing the
187. 9:52other options. Mostly what we do we
188. 9:55choose an option and at the same time
189. 9:58keep regretting about not being able to
190. 10:02choose the other possible alternatives.
191. 10:05One has to realize that
192. 10:08including everything in one option may
193. 10:12not be possible every time. So one has
194. 10:15to lose something also. If you want
195. 10:19further elaboration of these points, you
196. 10:22can go back to one of the modules in
197. 10:26which I talked about frustration,
198. 10:28adjustment and conflict. There I
199. 10:31discussed how to deal with interpersonal
200. 10:34as well as intrapersonal conflict. And
201. 10:38this decisionmaking dilemma or the
202. 10:41dilemma associated with problem-solving
203. 10:44behavior
204. 10:46draws heavily from intrapersonal
205. 10:49conflict. So reading it again can help
206. 10:53you a lot in understanding these
207. 10:56particular steps as well as you can come
208. 10:59up with a better manual to uh drive this
209. 11:03process. Then once I'm select I'm done
210. 11:08with the selection of the option and I'm
211. 11:10satisfied with it I must try to
212. 11:13implement my decision and solution
213. 11:17effectively on ground for that I need to
214. 11:20develop an action plan. I have to
215. 11:23specify the specific steps which will be
216. 11:26needed so that I can implement my
217. 11:29decision. I need to assign
218. 11:31responsibilities to other people if I'm
219. 11:34not alone capable of doing everything to
220. 11:39convert my idea into action and then I
221. 11:43need to add a realistic timeline. I must
222. 11:46realize that there will be unforeseen
223. 11:49consequences. there will be certain uh
224. 11:52you know hindrances which can extend the
225. 11:56time uh stipulated or allotted for a
226. 11:59particular thing to be done. So having
227. 12:02some extra time is always good. Then we
228. 12:05must allocate the resources which are
229. 12:08necessary and then communicate our
230. 12:11decisions and solution to other
231. 12:14stakeholders which are going to take
232. 12:16part in that decisions or who are going
233. 12:19to be affected by the decision.
234. 12:23Finally, one must continuously monitor
235. 12:27the progress of the implementation as
236. 12:31well as uh one should review the
237. 12:34outcomes of our decision
238. 12:37in terms of their effectiveness in
239. 12:40solving the problem.
240. 12:44One must be honest while evaluating the
241. 12:47effectiveness of the outcomes and uh
242. 12:49should do it without any kind of bias.
243. 12:55This was the basic and standard
244. 12:58procedure of decision making and problem
245. 13:00solving behavior.
246. 13:03Then comes the third part which includes
247. 13:07more advanced techniques and
248. 13:09considerations.
249. 13:11These are called creative problem
250. 13:14solving techniques. Sometimes we find
251. 13:16people coming up out ofthebox solutions
252. 13:20which have never been thought of before
253. 13:24which have never been tried before but
254. 13:28once tried they really did wonders.
255. 13:32Okay. So these kind of creative problem
256. 13:35solving techniques can also be tried. uh
257. 13:39mostly it includes analogical thinkings
258. 13:42means uh if I'm not capable of uh coming
259. 13:47up at a reasonable solution for the
260. 13:50problem uh I can refer to the past
261. 13:54incidences which were of similar kind
262. 13:58and I can uh just learn something from
263. 14:01what has been done in order to manage
264. 14:05those situations. So learning from the
265. 14:07past from the similar situations is one
266. 14:12thing that can be done. then working
267. 14:15backward.
268. 14:18Uh we all have seen puzzles in
269. 14:21newspapers and magazines where there is
270. 14:24a starting point and then there is an
271. 14:26end point and there's a puzzle there are
272. 14:30multiple roots in between and one is
273. 14:32supposed to start from the beginning and
274. 14:35then choosing a correct pathway so that
275. 14:38the person can reach to the desired end.
276. 14:41What if I start with the end point and
277. 14:45try to go back towards the beginning
278. 14:47point? This could be an effective
279. 14:49solution if I'm unable to find out the
280. 14:54correct path that can take me to the
281. 14:57desired goal. Sometimes this can be done
282. 15:01and the steps which are necessary to be
283. 15:05taken can be calculated in the reverse
284. 15:08order instead. Then assumption busting
285. 15:12uh if I'm not able to solve the problem
286. 15:16with the help of the established
287. 15:18assumptions and methods of doing it, I
288. 15:23should try to challenge them. What if I
289. 15:27start thinking in a way which is not
290. 15:29compatible with the existing assumptions
291. 15:33and start u adopting ways which are
292. 15:37innovative which are fresh which have
293. 15:39not been tried before.
294. 15:42All these frameworks, the analogical
295. 15:45thinking, working backward and
296. 15:47assumption busting must be done uh based
297. 15:52on the moral principles, values and the
298. 15:56social norms which are prevailing in our
299. 16:00own socioultural meu otherwise these
300. 16:04kind of deviations can be very risky
301. 16:08sometimes.
302. 16:11So this was all about the process of
303. 16:14decision making and problem solving.
304. 16:17Here is a quick recap. Uh in this
305. 16:21particular lecture we learn about the
306. 16:24three section procedure of decision
307. 16:26making and problem solving. That is the
308. 16:29first part containing the foundational
309. 16:32skills and mindset. The second part the
310. 16:35standard procedure and the third part
311. 16:38which comprises of uh more creative
312. 16:42techniques to solve the problem and we
313. 16:46learned the seven steps of the standard
314. 16:49procedure also.
315. 16:51Friends, this is the end of this 12 week
316. 16:54long course.
317. 16:57During these 12 weeks, we worked
318. 17:01together, we worked hard and we tried to
319. 17:04explore multiple domains of stress.
320. 17:09We started from the concept of a stress.
321. 17:12We talked about its nature. We talked
322. 17:15about various causes which exist in
323. 17:17different domains of life and cause us
324. 17:20significant stresses. We also talked
325. 17:23about the physical, psychological and
326. 17:26the social work related symptoms that we
327. 17:29find in people whenever they are
328. 17:32stressed.
329. 17:34Then we started talking about specific
330. 17:37domains where stressors are there and we
331. 17:41sometimes fail to identify them or
332. 17:45because the symptoms are so pervasive
333. 17:47they are so prevalent in the society
334. 17:50occurring with everybody that we stops
335. 17:54understanding them as problem. We find
336. 17:56uh we start taking them as normal. So
337. 18:00may not work, may not try to do anything
338. 18:03to improve the situation. We saw how
339. 18:06occupation can be a cause of a stress.
340. 18:09We also talked about uh scholastic
341. 18:12stress. Then we moved on to family
342. 18:15relationship as potential stressors. And
343. 18:19we talked about many such aspects of
344. 18:22life which may contain stressors for us.
345. 18:26And finally we started talking about
346. 18:29management of a stress
347. 18:32defense mechanisms were also a part of
348. 18:35our discussion. Emotion focused
349. 18:37strategies, problem focused strategies
350. 18:40and finally life skills. So this was a
351. 18:43long journey but I hope the journey was
352. 18:47useful for you. It was interesting for
353. 18:50you. It has somehow improvised your
354. 18:54behavioral repertoire by equipping you
355. 18:57with some more tools, some more
356. 19:00strategies to prevent as well as to
357. 19:04manage stress without getting
358. 19:07overwhelmed by the feeling of anxiety,
359. 19:11nervousness or stress itself.
360. 19:14Thank you very much for spending such a
361. 19:17long time with me and being actively
362. 19:20engaged with the assignments with the
363. 19:24discussion forums with everything. I
364. 19:27really enjoyed your company during these
365. 19:30weeks and hope the same from your side
366. 19:33as well.
367. 19:35Thank you very much for being with me.
368. 19:38And of course, without ending this
369. 19:41tutorial, these are the references and
370. 19:44recommended readings to enhance your
371. 19:47knowledge about the subject a little
372. 19:50more. Here are some more references.
373. 19:55Thank you very much for your patient
374. 19:57listening. Thank you.