The Harsh Reality of Problem Solving: What to Do When Nothing Works
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses the concept of 'positive deviance,' a strategy for personal improvement that focuses on replicating successful behaviors rather than fixing failures. It suggests that by identifying and understanding the factors that led to past successes, individuals can create sustainable change in their lives. The script uses the example of two physicians in Vietnam who discovered that malnourished children could be helped by adopting the behaviors of healthier children in the same environment. The speaker encourages viewers to analyze their own positive experiences and apply the same principles to improve various aspects of their lives, such as studying, exercising, or forming healthy habits.
Takeaways
- π€ The script discusses the common issue of feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of solutions available and the struggle of finding what works for an individual.
- 𧬠It highlights the challenge of applying scientific research to personal situations, given that studies are based on populations and not tailored to individual genetics or experiences.
- π The concept of 'positive deviance' is introduced, which is the idea of identifying and replicating successful behaviors within a group rather than focusing on problems.
- π»π³ A story from Vietnam illustrates positive deviance, where doctors discovered that some families were avoiding malnutrition by incorporating small nutritious elements into their diet, which others ignored.
- π The script suggests that instead of trying to fix problems, individuals should study their own successful behaviors and attempt to replicate the conditions that led to those successes.
- π€·ββοΈ It emphasizes the importance of not just looking at what one does wrong but understanding the factors that contribute to doing things right.
- ποΈββοΈ An example is given about studying for a test, where focusing on the right mindset and conditions that led to correct answers is more beneficial than just reviewing missed questions.
- π The script encourages a shift in focus from problem-solving to success-duplicating, by identifying and understanding the factors that lead to personal successes.
- π It suggests a methodical approach to positive deviance, which includes conducting a qualitative analysis of successful instances, generating hypotheses, and testing them.
- π The process of positive deviance is described as iterative, where one should continually analyze successes, generate new hypotheses, and adjust behaviors accordingly.
- π The overall message is that individuals have the power to improve their lives by focusing on and replicating their own successes rather than seeking external solutions.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script about solutions not working?
-The main issue discussed is the challenge people face when they have tried numerous solutions and none seem to work for their unique case, especially when dealing with a vast amount of information and potential solutions available in various fields like medicine and self-improvement.
How does the speaker describe the problem of information overload in the context of scientific research?
-The speaker illustrates the problem by pointing out that with 1.8 million research articles published every year, it becomes increasingly difficult for individuals to determine which ones are relevant and effective for their personal needs.
What is the concept of 'positive deviance' as introduced in the script?
-Positive deviance is a concept where instead of focusing on the problem, one should identify and replicate the behaviors or conditions that led to success in similar situations, even if those successes are rare.
Why did the physicians in Vietnam focus on malnourished children?
-The physicians were contracted to address the issue of malnourishment in rural Vietnam, where over 50% of children were affected, to improve public health by finding a solution to this critical issue.
How did the physicians in Vietnam approach the problem of malnourishment without food aid?
-The physicians shifted their focus from the problem to the successful cases, observing and identifying the behaviors of parents whose children were not malnourished, and then encouraging the adoption of these behaviors to combat malnourishment.
What is the significance of the physicians' discovery about the malnourished children in Vietnam?
-Their discovery highlighted the principle of positive deviance, showing that by observing and replicating the behaviors of those who are successful in a particular area, one can solve problems without external aid or resources.
How does the speaker relate the concept of positive deviance to personal improvement?
-The speaker suggests applying positive deviance to personal improvement by focusing on the factors that led to success in one's life, rather than trying to fix the problems or failures.
What is the speaker's advice for someone who is struggling with a problem and has tried many solutions without success?
-The speaker advises to identify the instances when the problem was not present or was successfully managed, analyze the factors contributing to that success, and then replicate those conditions.
How can the principle of positive deviance be applied to studying habits?
-By identifying the days when studying was successful, understanding the conditions that led to that success, and then trying to replicate those conditions, such as sleep patterns, diet, and stress levels, to improve study habits.
What does the speaker suggest as an alternative to seeking external solutions for personal problems?
-The speaker suggests looking inward and focusing on the individual's own successes, analyzing the factors that contributed to those successes, and then working to replicate those conditions as a way to address personal problems.
How does the concept of positive deviance differ from traditional problem-solving approaches?
-Unlike traditional problem-solving approaches that focus on addressing the problem directly, positive deviance emphasizes identifying and replicating the successful behaviors or conditions that have already led to a solution in similar situations.
Outlines
π Overcoming Solution Fatigue
The speaker addresses the frustration of trying numerous solutions without success, a common issue in various fields including medicine. With 1.8 million research articles published annually, it's challenging to discern which treatments or approaches will work for an individual. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding that scientific studies often show average results, which may not apply to everyone. They introduce the concept of seeking help from clinicians who can tailor solutions to an individual's unique circumstances and hint at a technique that has helped them overcome this challenge.
π Discovering Positive Deviance
This paragraph delves into the story of two physicians in Vietnam who were tasked with addressing malnourishment among children. Despite the lack of promised resources, they discovered a group of well-nourished children among the poor and identified specific behaviors that set these children apart. The concept of 'positive deviance' is introduced, which is the idea of looking at successful outliers within a group to understand and replicate their behaviors. The speaker then relates this concept to personal development, suggesting that instead of focusing on what doesn't work, one should identify and replicate the factors that led to past successes.
π Applying Positive Deviance to Personal Growth
The speaker explains the practical application of positive deviance in personal life. They suggest focusing on the instances where one has succeeded rather than on the failures. By identifying and understanding the factors that contributed to those successes, one can develop a hypothesis and work on replicating those conditions. The speaker provides an example of studying habits and how focusing on the days when one was successful can lead to discovering the right mindset or environment for effective studying. The emphasis is on an iterative process of analysis, hypothesis, and replication to improve one's life.
π Embracing Success and Iterative Improvement
In the final paragraph, the speaker encourages continuous attention to one's successes and the factors that led to them. They advocate for an active approach to understanding and replicating the conditions that foster success, rather than focusing on failures. The speaker highlights the iterative nature of this process, where one can continually refine their understanding and application of positive deviance. The goal is to make the seemingly unsolvable problems easier to tackle by building on past successes and learning from them.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Solutions
π‘Positive Deviance
π‘Malnourishment
π‘Research Articles
π‘Science
π‘Clinicians
π‘Behavioral Changes
π‘Success
π‘Iteration
π‘Hypothesis
π‘Focus
Highlights
The challenge of finding effective solutions when traditional methods fail is a common problem, especially with the overwhelming amount of information and research available.
Science is based on populations, which means that what works for the average may not work for the individual.
The concept of 'positive deviance' is introduced as a technique to identify and replicate successful behaviors within a community.
A case study from Vietnam demonstrates how positive deviance was used to solve malnourishment without additional food aid.
The importance of focusing on individual successes rather than failures to understand what leads to effective outcomes.
The speaker's personal experience applying positive deviance to improve test scores by focusing on what led to correct answers.
The idea that solutions to problems may already exist within one's own successful experiences and behaviors.
Practical steps to apply positive deviance by analyzing the factors that led to past successes.
The significance of not just identifying positive behaviors but also understanding the context and conditions that support them.
The iterative process of applying positive deviance involves generating hypotheses, testing them, and refining based on outcomes.
The potential for positive deviance to make seemingly unsolvable problems easier to address by building on past successes.
The role of clinicians in tailoring scientific solutions to individual needs, highlighting the importance of personalized approaches.
The speaker's initiative, HG, which aims to help people create sustainable change by integrating understanding of motivation and behavior.
The emphasis on paying attention to and noting the details of one's successes as a way to replicate them in the future.
The transformative power of positive deviance in shifting targets from fixing problems to duplicating successes.
The speaker's encouragement for viewers to implement positive deviance by being mindful of successes and the circumstances that led to them.
Transcripts
today I want to talk to you all about
what to do if Solutions don't seem to
work
and I've worked with a lot of
a lot of being inside I've tried
everything and nothing seems to work
I've tried supplements I've tried
therapy I've tried to exercise I've
tried dating coaches everything that I
do doesn't seem to work and I'm truly a
unique case and there are a lot of
people out there who are always looking
to try something new because there's a
lot of good stuff out there to try right
if we kind of look at scientific
research people are researching new
compounds and they're like podcasts and
life hacking and biohacking and even
people like myself who are like oh hey
you should try this new thing and so we
have so many solutions out there and
it's getting to the point where even if
you tried a bunch of them there's a real
problem of okay like what do I try next
and if you look at it statistically
there are 1.8 million research articles
published every year and that number is
growing how are you supposed to know
which ones work for you and so this is a
very serious problem that a lot of
people have and is becoming increasingly
important even in the field of medicine
so as we have more and more treatments
and more and more research articles how
do you know what's going to work for you
and this is the challenge with science
in general which is that if you look at
science science is based on populations
right so if you look at a study on let's
say
omega-3 or fat you know fish oil on
let's say depression what they'll do is
they'll take a thousand people half of
them
omega-3 and half of them nothing a
control right and then what they'll
discover is that okay like there was a
15 Improvement but of the 500 people who
took the supplement it's not that every
single person improved by 15 it's that a
third of them improved by 70 percent a
third of them improved by 30 percent and
then a third of them improved by zero
percent didn't improve at all and this
is what science does so science is about
the law of averages and so then
individuals are left with a serious
problem is how do I know which science
is going to work for me and this is
precisely why we have clinicians because
sometimes you need another human being
to tailor science to your particular
perspective right to your particular
genetics your particular upbringing your
particular physiology and so then the
question kind of becomes how do we
navigate this problem and so what I'm
going to love what I'd love to do today
is share with you all a particular
technique that is very very effective if
Solutions haven't worked for you so far
hey there thanks for watching and I'm
glad these videos have been helpful a
lot of times I'll read the comments and
see people asking well what do I
actually do about it which is such a
great question and unfortunately my
experience has been that the resources
out there aren't actually that good at
helping people create sustainable change
which is why I started HG in the first
place he coaches are trained on a
curriculum that integrates all of my
understanding into what is motivation
what paralyzes Us and how to create
lasting behavioral change so if you're
ready to take the next step he coaches
are ready to build the life that you
want they've helped people build careers
find relationships build networks of
friends discover what their passions are
and pursue their Hobbies so if this
sounds like something that you'd be
interested it and check out the link in
the description below and so what I'd
love to do is share with you all the
technique that I kind of stumbled into
that day but I think is actually better
Illustrated
um through the people who sort of
discovered it more formally so there's
this tested shift to take to get into
med school called The Medical College
admissions test at least in the United
States and when I was studying for it
I'd sort of hit a plateau I was kind of
in the top 20 to 25 percent and I kept
on trying to figure out okay what am I
doing wrong what am I doing wrong what
am I doing wrong and despite the fact
that I kept on looking at my problems
and trying to find Solutions trying to
find Solutions it just wasn't working
and then I kind of had this really
bizarre idea that seemed a little bit
unusual and I kind of leaned into that
and I found that surprisingly once I
employed this technique or this
methodology I actually bumped up quite a
bit so in order to understand this
technique I'm actually going to go to
the original researchers who really sort
of fleshed out this technique and this
story actually starts in France with two
Physicians so these Physicians were
focused on public health specifically
malnourishment and they'd been
contracted by the country of Vietnam to
improve malnourished children in rural
Vietnam and they had a huge
malnourishment problem over 50 percent
of kids in this rural section of Vietnam
were malnourished and weren't getting
enough food so these Physicians did what
any good Physicians do who are out there
to save the world right they said okay
well like we will comment we will come
nourish your children because how do you
fix malnourishment right so what do you
do if kids are malnourished you feed
them it's not that complicated so they
show up in Vietnam and the government
has promised them all kinds of stuff
yeah we're going to give you this amount
of food Aid We're going to give you this
amount of money things like that so they
show up there they've taken actually a
one-year break from their day jobs to
come and solve world hunger in this
rural corner of Vietnam and the
government actually tells them you know
what we're incredibly sorry but um all
that stuff we promised you none of it's
here maybe corruption maybe we over
promised who knows what happened here's
what we can give you we can give you a
translator a van and some accommodation
please fix the problem and so these two
doctors are like well how are we
supposed to solve malnourishment without
any food and the government was like
please please please try do what you can
you've come all this way and then the
doctors were like well we've like
dedicated a year to this project and now
all the food Aid is going let's see what
we can do so they went and they they
took their van and they took their
driver and they kind of drove around for
a while and they started exploring this
part of Vietnam and then one of them
kind of had a really interesting
Revelation which is well hold on a
second like all these people are poor
right they're all like rice Farmers
that's what like most of them do for
their job and it's not like some of them
are super rich or have access to great
food they're actually all in the same
situation they're all rice farmers and
so one of the the docs basically asked
this question why isn't the
malnourishment 100 right why doesn't why
doesn't everyone have malnourished kids
everyone's poor everyone's a rice farmer
but half of the kids are not
malnourished and so they started looking
into not the problem they looked into
the people who don't have the problem
and what they essentially discovered was
something really interesting that of the
the the parents of the children who were
healthy had a couple of behaviors which
the other parents didn't one is anytime
they were out weeding in the rice field
they would see some kinds of like
Crustaceans like little shrimps clams
things like that right because it's like
rice paddies there's lots of water so
there's like little crustacean shrimps
and stuff growing in there they have an
apron literally this is their solution
and anytime they saw shrimp they'd scoop
it up and stick it in the apron so they
saw a clam or muscle or of any kind they
just scoop it up and stick it in the
apron the other thing that those parents
did is that there are certain weeds so
weeds from a rice field perspective
which are actually very nutritious but
are considered Poor People's food so a
good example of this in the United
States is something like mustard greens
if y'all are familiar with that so these
vegetables are really really cheap
really good for you taste a little bit
maybe not as tasty not as sweet whatever
and they're generally eaten by people
who are of low socioeconomic status so
mustard greens which and collard greens
are another good example are very like
fibrous right so collard greens taste
delicious if you make them right but
they were traditionally eaten by
Africans and slaves so they're
considered poor people food so similarly
there were some greens that were viewed
as poor people food which half of the
families would not eat they just weed
and throw away but the other half
realized oh these are edible and
nutritious I'm actually going to eat
them and and we're going to cook them
and what these researchers essentially
discovered is that the reason that half
these people are are not malnourished is
because they do these two things and so
they stumbled on something that they
called positive deviance which is this
idea that when there's a problem you
don't actually have to go looking for a
solution a solution already exists and
all you have to do is duplicate it and
so this was kind of a radical and
revolutionary idea because what they
actually ended up doing is implementing
some behavioral changes and they
actually fixed the problem of
malnourishment without a single dollar
worth of food Aid and so even going back
to when I was studying what I sort of
discovered was I started to ask myself
hold on a second I keep on focusing on
the problems that I got wrong but I'm
not asking the questions why do I get
most of these questions right what is
going on in my mind that leads to the
right answer as opposed to just focusing
on what leads to the wrong answer and
what I actually discovered was something
really interesting which is that when I
when I took the test depending on my
frame of mind depending on whether I was
paying attention in a particular way
that's what led to the right answers
with hard questions sometimes and
instead of focusing on studying physics
or biology or chemistry like over and
over and over again oh I missed this
question that must mean that I need to
go back and read the chapter on
chemistry instead what I did is sort of
Applied positive deviance and that's uh
situation of studying and I kind of like
actually boosted my score a ton so we're
going to talk a little bit more about
positive deviance and basically what
positive deviance suggests is that you
actually don't need any solutions and
the right way to improve your life is to
not fix your problems and this is
something that is especially ineffective
for people who have tried a lot of stuff
to fix their problems and I know it
sounds kind of bizarre but how can I
improve my life if I don't fix my
problems it's it's a subtlety but it's
actually really important which is that
what you need to do is apply positive
deviance to your own life and
practically what that means is don't
focus on the days that you screw up try
to duplicate or understand the days that
you did really well and so I'll give you
all just an example of like people come
to me and say hey I have trouble
studying right please evaluate me for
ADHD give me medication and then I'll
ask them a simple question I'll ask them
okay so like do you can you never study
and the answer is never no yes I can
never study I cannot study a single day
the answer that I always get is yeah
like maybe like one day out of 15 I do a
good job studying and if you're
listening to this video you know that's
true too you know that there are times
in your life where you actually do a
really good job and then you ask
yourself why can't I be like this every
day right there's one day that you're
super focused you get everything done on
time you wake up in the morning you
study for three hours you do all your
work for the day and then you're free
for the rest of the day it feels
deliberating feels so good and then the
next day you stumble you get distracted
and then you ask yourself okay how do I
stop this distraction how do I fix that
problem and what positive deviance
essentially does is it doesn't focus on
the problems it focuses on the solutions
so what positive deviance is all about
is take that one day that you did do a
good job and as ask yourself what are
the factors that lead to this success
instead of focusing on all the stuff
that knocks you off your game try to
duplicate that which puts you on your
game so practically how do you do that
it starts with this so if you have a
problem start by asking yourself okay
what is one case in which this problem
was not applicable right so start don't
worry about the problem itself ask
yourself okay what's like one good what
what's one situation where I was able to
study what's one situation where I did
make a friend what's one situation where
I was able to set a boundary with
someone right you can be whatever you
what's one day that I was able to
exercise what's one day that I was able
to eat healthy what's one day that I ate
a sandwich instead of fried chicken or a
salad instead of a sandwich because each
and every human being has some successes
in their life and what positive deviance
then does is the problem is that you can
get a generic answer from an expert
who's a scientist or look at research
study but the Apple application of that
research study isn't going to be a
hundred percent because they weren't
researching you all the scientific
literature out there is not about you
it's about the average person and so
when you translate stuff from the
average person to an individual there is
something that's lost in efficiency so
how do you get that efficiency back you
look at your life and you look at your
Solutions you look at your successes
this is the principle of positive
deviance so more practically start by
looking at the days that you actually
did really well and don't worry that
it's only one percent of the time or two
percent of the time or three percent of
the time because what we're going to do
is duplicate the successes instead of
trying to fix the failures that's the
the key of positive deviance so the
second question you should ask yourself
is okay what was going on in the 24
hours prior to this success so if you
whatever your target is let's take
exercise for example oh I woke up one
morning and I exercised right and then
what everyone tries to fix is oh I'm
lazy how do I stop being lazy forget
about being lazy how are you not lazy
that morning right because this is what
positive deviance suggests is that the
answer is already there you don't need
to come up with a solution that already
exists and just like the these people
who were trying to solve nourishment in
Vietnam they were trying to fix the
problem with 50 of the kids and instead
of what they discovered is hey 50 of
people are doing it right we just need
to duplicate that and so as you look at
the success that you have let's say you
exercised one morning look at when did
you go to bed the night before what did
you eat the day before you know what was
on your mind were you stressed out did
you play video games and look at all of
the factors that led to that success so
usually what we want to do is a
qualitative analysis on our positive
deviance so there's the average and then
there's the deviation that's negative
which is below average and there's the
deviation that's above average that's
what we want to focus on then we want to
ask ourselves why and so try to look at
as many factors as you can so stressors
sleep diet you know what you did the day
before and see what led to that success
then what we want to do is develop a
hypothesis and try to duplicate those
things again so instead of focusing on
okay I need to exercise in the morning
that's not the Target that you need to
shoot for what you need to shoot for is
I need to make sure that I do not talk
to my friends and log on to Discord
after 8 pm at night that's the actual
thing that I need to focus on because if
I can do that then I'll wake up the next
day I'll feel really good and then I
will actually be able to exercise so it
shifts our Target and then you may say
but okay but how do I but that's really
hard for me or like going to bed on the
night before is really hard then you can
do a positive deviant study on that too
what are the times when you've gone to
bed on time what were the factors that
allowed you to go to bed on time so you
want to do a qualitative analysis
develop a hypothesis and then ideally
shift your Target and focus on that
and what you'll discover if you kind of
do this process it's it's an iterative
process so you try it you see how it
goes maybe it improves your success a
little bit more and if it improves your
success a little bit more then you ask
yourself the question okay how was I
able to be successful this time what
else did I miss if you get something
wrong you kind of go back to the drawing
board and you can do a second
qualitative analysis you ask yourself
okay what could I be missing or you just
continue living your life and this is
the other big part of positive deviance
is that it's not just about fixing a
particular problem now what I want you
all to do if you really want to
implement positive deviance in your life
is pay attention going forward this is
really important right so as you go
about your day you will naturally have
some successes and this time though as
you have some successes instead of just
thinking man I wish I could do this
every single day and getting frustrated
with yourself by having a failure
tomorrow you're going to pay attention
to every aspect of the success take
notes generate hypotheses think about
what actually worked for you because
what positive deviance actually tells us
is that if you want to fix your problem
you shouldn't focus on finding a
solution to the problem you should
actually duplicate those few times that
you actually did do a good job and then
as you start to implement those changes
you'll discover something very very
interesting which is that fixing the
problems that feel unsolvable are
actually way easier than you ever
anticipated and you don't need to ask
anyone else for help because you've
actually fixed them in the past there
have been some successes in the past and
all you need to do is duplicate them
foreign
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