There is not much to be said for repeating an approach that has proven to be ineffective. And yet, many of us seem to have trapped ourselves in a loop whereby we look at problems in the same way and end up never really being satisfied with their resolution. At a certain point, it will occur to us that there is something wrong with the pattern.
The challenge is not so much the “problems” per se but rather our approach to and perspective on them that needs to be adjusted. What we might refer to as problems are actually mirrors that we can use to improve the manner in which we interact with the world.
When we are confronted with a task or a challenge, there is a difference between, on the one hand, the need to devise a strategy and to take action to complete the the task and on the other hand, our emotional reaction to the simple fact of that task or challenge. Those are two separate problems and in order to resolve them both, it is crucial that we realize that.
The elegant method that the Buddha devised to lead us out of this maze of suffering is to train the mind so that our judgement is automatically informed rather than clouded by our reaction to the events we encounter. In this world, phenomena are constantly arising, prevailing and ceasing. If our automatic reaction to this fundamental truth is always to observe rather than to prejudge, worry, grasp or fear, then we will always know how to complete the tasks in front of us.