[A guest blog spot by ISS Managing Editor Elaine Foxwell.]
Im a bit of a pessimist, which I dont think is a bad thing. Instead of looking on the bright side, I tend to think doom-and-gloom. (I'm the Eeyore in my family). That means I often nag at a problem or see pitfalls in a scenario before others. Sometimes, this attitude lets me see solutions in advance, other times, not so much.
When things go wrong, I really cringe at the platitudes of well-meaning optimists who try to make me feel better by talking about silver linings in clouds or how if one door closes, another opens, etc. Sorry, do-gooders, but it just doesnt go over too well with me. Leave me to my moping and nagging.
Still, my attitude often gets results. Take this big fellow in the picture with me above (my horse, Slayer). Hes been having some physical problems. A full-body MRI shows that an accident from a couple of years ago has finally resulted in some spinal changes, ending his career as a dressage horse. This doesnt mean hes lame; he just cant bear weight on his back. Hes still young, healthy and full of wild, bucking energy. I cant see confining a healthy boy like him to life in a 20-by-12 stall; but the lack of land for livestock here in Arizona means there are no retirement-to-a-happy-pasture options.
Still, I stubbornly refuse to accept the inevitable. Ive worried at the problem for weeks. Then, viola! Fate steps in the form of a couple of people who drive their horses (er not to drink, but to pull a cart). After seeing this couple with their horse in action, I thought to myself, "I've driven horses in the past ... I can buy a harness and read a how-to book. And Slayer can be a carriage horse!" The beginning of his training has been a bit rocky. Temperamentally, he may not be suited to pull a cart. But we shall see.
The point is one of those adages, the thinking-outside-the-box one, is helping me solve a very difficult situation. How about you? Facing a tough storage situation, a customer who is so difficult youre ready to tear out your (or his) hair, a financial or jurisdictional challenge?
OK, dont think outside that box, go outside it. Look at it from all sides, gnaw at it, then wait for Fate to maybe give you a eureka! moment. There may be a solution out there. Happy problem-solving!